Next Lesson
by FrozenLioness
Summary: Sequel to Kissing Lesson! Sora kissed Kairi but somehow it felt wrong... RikuxSora DISCONTINUED
1. Next Lesson

Disclaimer: yeah yeah I don't own them, I'm so pathetic, whatever.... I said it, so there, don't sue me!  
  
Author's Crap: First of all.. THANKS for all the reviews for Kissing Lesson!!   
  
I was surprised to get so many in so little time! *hugs everyone who reviewed* And thanks for telling me my spelling mistakes, I've already fixed it though it could take a while for fanfiction.net to show it...  
  
So after the lovely reviews I immediately began to write the sequel ^^ so this is the sequel to Kissing Lesson called Next Lesson ^-^ (sorry I couldn't think of anything else ^^')   
  
I hope you all enjoy it as much as Kissing Lesson and, well, just as a warning, it's a little more intense but just a little *winks*  
  
~~~  
  
Sora pulled away, leaving Kairi a little surprised. Sure, she hadn't expected anything breathtaking from their first kiss but Sora didn't even seem to be there. His mind was somewhere else, she could tell.  
  
"Sora..." she said, narrowing her eyes at him. The boy's eyes were staring into nothingness just as though he wasn't even seeing anything but imagining something.   
  
"Hey, Sora!" Kairi called yet again, waving her hand before his eyes.  
  
The lips came down on him again, a warm tongue caressed his own and the shudder of the other body made him squirm. "Sora..." the husky voice breathed into the kiss before slightly pulling away to smile at the young boy. Sora lost himself in the mix of green and blue, drowning in another kiss, drowning in the touch of two gentle hands. His own trembling hands ran across the other's bare arms, under his shirt with a need that not even he could understand.   
  
"Sora..." he heard the beautiful voice moan.   
  
"Sora!!" Kairi yelled, poking him to get him back to reality. Sora snapped back, eyes wide open in shock and confusion as he realized what he had been imagining while being with Kairi.  
  
"Um..yes?" he asked, looking at her sheepishly. Kairi pouted but eventually shrugged it off, looking at Sora with a concerned look.   
  
"Are you ok? You zoned out."   
  
Sora winced as he thought of his daydream again. Why was he thinking of Riku while being with Kairi? And why was he thinking of Riku...in that way?!   
  
"Yeah...just..tired..." Sora murmured, subconsciously avoiding Kairi's gaze. He couldn't look into her eyes, not when he was thinking of someone else.   
  
The girl sighed and stood up, walking towards her house. "Better go to bed then. It's already evening. See you tomorrow after you had enough sleep."   
  
Thus, she walked away, disappearing in the distance to leave Sora sit alone in the darkness.   
  
"So much for her being my light.." Sora grumbled, knowing that she was a little offended but for absolutely no reason. She knew he loved her. He did...didn't he?  
  
Sora sighed deeply and lay down in the sand, putting his hands into his hair to ruffle it in despair.   
  
"Whaaaat am I supposed to dooooo......" he whined, ruffling his hair violently in order to clear his mind from all the confusion. It didn't work.   
  
"What are you doing?" a familiar voice asked, holding a little amusement in it.   
  
Sora stopped dead and jolted up to see a smirking Riku before him, one eyebrow raised.   
  
"I..." he began, feeling the sudden rush of blood in his cheeks. He was blushing deeply and tried to hide it by looking down. So close and yet so far, he thought, longing to touch Riku's bare arms just like he imagined.   
  
He still didn't know why he was thinking like that all of the sudden but it didn't seem to go away anymore. Ever since their kiss in the morning he couldn't focus on anything but Riku.   
  
He even thought of him when he kissed Kairi, imagining those tender but strong lips enveloping his mouth in that hungry way.... No, he couldn't trail off again. Riku was standing right before him.  
  
He sighed, looking back into Riku's aqua eyes, his cheeks getting warmer and warmer. Riku smiled.   
  
"Did you kiss Kairi? What did she say?" He said, sounding a little strange. It sounded like he didn't really care but wanted to be polite.   
  
Sora noticed the strange sound and wondered what he was really feeling.   
  
"Um...she...I think I've offended her..." Sora muttered, feeling Riku's strong arm around him. Was he daydreaming again?   
  
Riku put his arm around his friend asking, "Why is that? Didn't she like the kiss?" His voice now held pure concern.   
  
Sora shook his head. "No..well, I don't know... I... I wasn't really into the kiss...so she..."   
  
He had to think of his and Riku's kiss again. So sweet, yet so passionate. So different from the one with Kairi.   
  
They were both silent for some time and Sora wondered what Riku was thinking of him after the kiss. Why would he offer to teach him how to kiss? Just to be friendly?   
  
He thought back, trying hard to remember anything that would give hint about Riku's thoughts and suddenly noticed a lot of little things.   
  
Riku was watching him out of the corner of his eye whenever he was doing something foolish to be there if something happened. When he fell down from the tree, Riku was there to catch him, the time he caught a cold, Riku was there to nurse him...and he always held that look on his face. A look Sora had never noticed until now.  
  
"Well, I'll have to go now." Riku suddenly said, his face already turned so Sora wasn't able to look into his eyes anymore. He frowned at him and thought about telling him to stay but how would Riku react?  
  
He wasn't sure what he was feeling and he wasn't sure what Riku would think of him. So, before he could make up his mind Riku was already walking away.  
  
For some reason Sora's heart was pounding like hell as he imagined what it would've been like if he had asked Riku to stay. The urge to touch and kiss him came up again and Sora felt as though he was going insane. Or maybe he just needed some sleep.   
  
Shaking his head he decided to walk back home to lie down and *not* think about Riku. It would certainly help to sleep and tomorrow everything would be clear again. That's what Sora thought.  
  
But lying in his bed his longing for Riku only seemed to increase and he couldn't fall asleep like this. Why, he asked himself, WHY did it have to happen now? Now that he was actually with Kairi, now that his feelings were running wild anyway... Again, Riku's face entered his mind, Riku's gentle hands and Sora almost cried as he bumped his head against the wall to get the silver-haired boy out of his head.  
  
"Get out! Get out out out out out!" He yelled, bumping his head repeatedly.   
  
"Oh, sorry. Didn't know you wanted to be alone." A voice suddenly came from the door. Sora jumped in surprise, the room was spinning through all the bumping and he felt a terrible headache as well as nausea coming up.  
  
"Riku..?" Sora said, his voice shaking. Was he dreaming?   
  
Riku sighed and went over to his friend. "I just wanted to check on you since you looked a little dazed back there.... What were you doing? Even if nothing's in there, it still hurts to bump your head like this."   
  
He poked Sora's forehead and grinned. Very nice, that was so Riku. Just because he was smarter than Sora it didn't mean that Sora had no brain at all.   
  
Slightly pouting at his friend he gestured Riku to sit down on the bed. He wanted him to be near, at least this way if not the one he dreamt of.   
  
They both sat in silence, Sora thinking of Riku's look again, wondering if it meant anything.   
  
"Riku..." Sora began after awhile of thinking.   
  
The older boy turned to him. "Yeah?"  
  
Sora chewed on his lower lip, obviously nervous about something as he twiddled the edge of his shirt in his fingers.   
  
"Do you..um...somehow...I mean...kind of... like me?"  
  
Riku stared, caught totally off-guard, his mind telling him hundreds of answers but none of them was good.   
  
"Um..." he began, narrowing his eye to think hard. Then it clicked. "Of course I like you. We're friends, you're my best friend even. So, of course I do like you."   
  
Sora nodded once and continued to chew on his lip. So was his assumption wrong? Did Riku just like him as a friend and nothing more? But then why..  
  
"Why do you ask?" Riku interrupted his thoughts, asking the question a little uncertain. Sora hesitated a little and shrugged.   
  
"Just...wondering..." he replied.   
  
Another time of silence passed and both sat motionless.  
  
And a split of a second later, they were kissing again, desperately trying to feel more of the other. Sora sighed, Riku gasped, they both moaned quietly as their tongues met again.   
  
It seemed like forever since they had shared the first kiss and both longed for more and more with every moment passed.   
  
"Sora..." Riku breathed, his voice low and husky just like in Sora's imagination. Two strong hands wandered under Sora's shirt touching him in ways Sora had never even thought about.   
  
"Ri..ku.." Sora panted in anticipation, trying to get Riku's lips back to his but Riku had other plans and wandered down to his abdomen, pulling up his shirt to place butterfly kisses on his stomach.  
  
The younger boy's breath hitched in surprise as he felt the slightly tickling but pleasuring kisses.   
  
"Ahhh......." he gasped nearly crying out just before he was silenced with Riku's lips. Every motion stopped and they drifted into the sweet tenderness of the kiss.   
  
The night went on, Riku showing Sora all kinds of wonders while Sora successfully experimented with ways to show his affection too.   
  
~~  
  
"What about Kairi?" Riku suddenly asked after a long time of silence when they both had lain beside each other enjoying the sound of their hearts beating together.  
  
Sora frowned a little. He didn't know.   
  
"I..." but he knew that he wouldn't trade Riku for Kairi. Never. He wouldn't trade Riku for anything.   
  
"Okay, we'll think about that later..."   
  
Sora turned to see Riku's wonderful smile, making him forget everything around him. For now he would just be in Riku's arms, being protected. The rest of the world could go to hell now.  
  
Nothing else mattered.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: How did you like this one? I hope it was okay and I'd love to read some reviews again ^^ 


	2. The Morning After

Author's Crap: Ahhh evil evil evil LoL no I love you all. But you forced me to stay up all night to write this! Yeah I'm so stunned because of your reviews! Thank you sooooo much!! *huggles everyone*  
  
Okies, since you all wanted it, this is the second chapter! As you all know Riku and Sora have been.. um.. sleeping (and nothing more!).. and now it's 'the morning after'.. lol have fun!  
  
oh yeah and sorry for the little OOC-ness of Kairi, it was neccesary...  
  
~~~  
  
The sun was already burning through Sora's window as one of the boys woke up. The silver-haired boy started to grin like an idiot as he remembered why he wasn't in his room but in Sora's.  
  
His friend was still lying curled up beside him, his lower lip thrust forward as if saying 'come and suck on me' (A/N: mind you, it's his LIP not something else, perverts... ^.~).   
  
It was so cute to see him like this. No, cute wasn't the right term. Sora was...more than cute, more than adorable. He was simply, well, Sora.   
  
Yes, that was a fitting description. Sora was Sora and that was why Riku loved him so much. Love. It sounded a little foreign but he knew that he loved his friend, he had done it from the first day he saw him.  
  
Dreamily tracing a finger along Sora's jaw he saw the younger boy smile though he was still sleeping and eventually bent down to nibble on the inviting lips. So sweet, Riku thought. He could taste the innocence, the wonderful childish happiness on those lips, making him almost addicted to it. He wanted to drink from those lips, drink all of Sora's sweetness he could get.  
  
Riku was so lost in thoughts and the sensation of tasting the young boy that he didn't notice as his friend stirred awake.  
  
"Mmmfff--" A muffled sound came from between him and Sora and he opened his eyes, a little puzzled to feel something prevent him from yawning.   
  
Riku pulled away and chuckled as Sora looked adorably confused. After some time staring, the young boy reached out his hand to cup Riku's cheeks. But different from what Riku expected, Sora stuck his thumbs into each corner of Riku's mouth and stretched it a little before pinching his nose and dabbing lightly on Riku's stomach which made him shudder slightly under the touch of those innocent hands.  
  
"What--" he was just about to ask what the hell he was doing as Sora kissed him hard but pulled away too quickly, leaving Riku want more.  
  
"So it wasn't a dream and you're really here..." Sora quietly murmured before turning to him and flashing him one of his goofy grins. So cute, so...Sora, Riku thought.   
  
He smiled and nodded.   
  
Silence overcame both boys as they watched each other in pure content. Two days ago they had been just friends but now they were actually...what were they? Riku wondered. They hadn't really talked about anything yet and there was also Kairi...  
  
"Sora..." Riku began but stopped as he heard someone calling. Kairi.  
  
Sora groaned as he heard Kairi's voice piercing through the morning air and got up to stop her from coming in.  
  
"Um Sora..." Riku stopped him just before he was opening the door.   
  
The younger boy turned to look at him. "What?" He asked, somewhat annoyed.  
  
Riku grinned and pointed at a pile of clothes lying on the floor and Sora's face turned beet red.   
  
"Thanks..." he muttered, quickly slipping into his clothes. Riku continued to grin and waved at him until he disappeared behind the closing door.  
  
~~  
  
"H-hey, Kairi," he stammered, standing right in front of her to block the way to his house.  
  
"Morning Sora. You alright?" she asked, still sounding a little mad at him for the day before. Sora nodded.   
  
"S-sure. What are you doing here?" Kairi narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to Sora's neck.  
  
"Sora, did something bite you? Looks awful!" She dabbed on the hickey he got from Riku and Sora began to feel really warm, his cheeks getting red again.  
  
"Uh, no, it's ok. Really. What are you doing here?" he asked yet again, trying to get rid of her. Since when was he thinking like that? Days ago she was the only girl for him and now...  
  
Well, she was still the only *girl* for him but there was now a *boy* who was more important. Sora grinned as he thought of Riku.  
  
Kairi grunted (can you imagine her grunt?!) and looked past Sora at the door.   
  
"Why are you blocking the door? Someone in there I mustn't see?" She half-heartedly joked and Sora nearly choked and his eyes widened in shock. How was he supposed to tell Kairi what had happened. Did he even have to tell her? He could just... no he couldn't pretend it never happened, Riku meant far too much to him to do that. But Kairi..how should he tell her?   
  
"Morning Kairi." A cheerful voice came from behind Sora. The young boy stiffened at the familiar voice and turned around, looking at Riku.  
  
"Oh Riku. So you were the reason Sora was blocking the door. What did you two do now? Don't tell me you were fighting again and messed up the room so I can't enter."   
  
Sora who was still a little in shock and at loss of words just dumbly stared at Riku who smirked and said,  
  
"Oh Kairi you've got such a sharp mind." Though he was actually making fun of her, she took it as a compliment and giggled.  
  
"Yeah, you see. Sora and I were fooling around and, well, the room looks quite messy now." He winked at Sora. He was telling her the truth, somehow at least.   
  
It was amazing how he managed to not lie to her and still keep their new -discovery- secret.   
  
The girl nodded and clapped her hands as she had an idea. "I could go and clean it up. I was planning to go swimming with Selphie but--" Sora quickly cut her off, pointing somewhere far away.  
  
"Hey isn't that Selphie? I think she's calling you! Hurry, run to her!" he urged, already pushing her into the direction. Kairi seemed a little surprised but somehow felt that she was unwanted and walked away, frowning slightly.  
  
Riku looked thoughtfully at Sora and frowned at him. "You didn't have to be that mean. She's our friend and *still* your girlfriend after all."   
  
Sora was surprised to hear this statement coming from Riku. Shouldn't it be the other way round? Sora was confused, he suddenly noticed all the annoying things about Kairi and every time he found something new, he also found something new about Riku..something good.   
  
Like the way his eyes reflected the sunlight or the way his hair fell around his neck, looking so silky, so perfect. But it wasn't just the looks, Sora also noticed how gentle Riku could be and he always seemed to say the right things.   
  
It wasn't like Sora hadn't known before, no, he had admired his friend since childhood, but somehow he was seeing in a different light now. It was all the same as before, yet it felt so different.  
  
But he already loved the way Riku made him feel. It was something he had never felt before, a feeling that made you light-headed and all silly but it felt too good to want it to stop. He really loved the way Riku made him feel...love...the word was odd in relation with Riku. Sora had never used the word in coherence with Riku and wondered if he could possibly be... No, he stopped himself. It was too early to make silly assumptions especially when his feelings were running wild, making him feel as though he had been sitting on a too-fast-spinning carousel for an hour or more.   
  
"I don't know how to tell her." Sora eventually sighed.   
  
Riku patted his shoulder and nodded towards the house. "We will think of something...just let us..um, clean the room for now, ok?"  
  
Both boys started to grin again, it was that feeling inside their heart that made them all silly, forcing them to grin all the time. But Sora liked it and let Riku drag him back inside.  
  
~~~  
  
Kairi was sitting on the beach with Selphie, sorting out different types of shells they had found.   
  
"Hey what's the matter with you?" Selphie asked after a while. Kairi looked up. "What do you mean?"   
  
Selphie shrugged and pointed at the crushed shells. Kairi had crushed some in her hands while sorting them. She was obviously pissed off.  
  
"Nothing." she replied, thinking of how Sora just pushed her away and because of whom? Because of RIKU. It wasn't that she didn't like him, he was a good friend but sometimes it felt as though he was her rival. Especially when it was about Sora... She knew they were friends, best friends but she was Sora's *girlfriend* and she was more important than a stupid buddy, right?   
  
Selphie watched a little frightened as Kairi gritted her teeth, growling like a wolf.  
  
"Uh...Kairi..."   
  
"What is he thinking? Tell, me Selphie! What the hell is that little boy thinking?! Friends are friends but I am not just a friend, I'm his girlfriend! How can he just push me aside as if I was nothing? And for who? For his best friend Riku." She emphasized the word 'best' and rolled her eyes before grunting angrily.  
  
Selphie tried to think of something good to say. "Hmm...but you know, boys need their buddies, too. Maybe he's asking Riku for some advice and wants to surprise you. He always saw Riku as some kind of his mentor. Maybe Riku is just helping him out with a biiig romantic surprise!" she cheerfully said, already dreaming away into her own little romantic world.  
  
Kairi's anger faded immediately. That could be.   
  
"Right...that would be...nice..." she started to smile, also starting to dream of her and Sora at a candlelight dinner....  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"Riku I think we should really...clean...the room..." Sora mumbled between kisses.  
  
"We can do...that...later." Riku suddenly pulled away, looking out of the window. "How about we go outside? The weather seems nice."  
  
The younger boy nodded. Everything was alright as long as he got to kiss Riku.   
  
They went outside to the Paopu tree and before Riku could sit down at the trunk Sora already tackled him playfully, making them roll on the ground.  
  
Laughing and kissing they rolled around on the soft grass and Sora squealed as Riku started to tickle him.   
  
"Don't......!Ssstoppppp....!" he squealed laughing insanely and moaning occasionally whenever he felt Riku place a kiss on the spot he had just tickled him.   
  
"Don't stop? Okay!" Riku grinned and continued his little torture though Sora actually enjoyed it.   
  
All the laughter and squeals were audible on almost all of the small island and also reached the beach Selphie and Kairi were currently dreaming of romantic things.  
  
Selphie was the first one to notice and looked into the direction of the Paopu tree, her eyes nearly falling out as she saw what was going on.   
  
"Um...Kairi...." she stuttered. Kairi was still too deep in thoughts and didn't notice anything. Selphie thought for a while and got up to push Kairi into her house. Better not let her see this.  
  
Sora was lying beneath Riku desperately trying to kiss him but he always backed away, smirking at him cruelly.   
  
"Stop that!" Sora whined reaching up to pull him down while they rolled over so that Sora was on top.   
  
Riku stopped every motion and just lay there to be kissed. It felt too good to struggle although they both enjoyed the little power play. If they had been fighting, Riku would've definitely won because Sora would give in after awhile. But kissing was something different. Riku couldn't bring himself to struggle too long because he would definitely go crazy first.  
  
Both moaned as they kissed and touched each other, the sound echoing to the beach where Selphie was sitting, watching curiously. That was...even more romantic than the idea of Sora wanting to surprise Kairi! She happily thought.   
  
But what about Kairi? And her feelings? Wouldn't she be really mad if she found out about this? Selphie shuddered as she began to imagine what it would be like if Kairi saw them....an earthquake would be soothing compared to her anger.  
  
After the moans died down Selphie curiously looked closer, wanting to know what they were doing. Sora and Riku were lying breathlessly and...shirtless...on the soft grass.  
  
Shirtless? Did she miss something? Did she miss *the best part*?? She mentally smacked herself for letting stupid thoughts make her miss the most interesting part and sneaked a little closer to hear what they were saying. To her misfortune, they weren't saying anything.  
  
After a while of lying and occasional kissing Riku sat up, leaning against the tree and sighed.   
  
"Sora..." he murmured to the boy who was still sprawled on the ground.  
  
"Hmmm?" came a lazy reply. Riku chuckled but turned serious as he looked at the sky.  
  
"What..do you think we are?" he asked, hoping Sora was understanding what he meant. The younger boy looked at him with an expression that looked like a mix of a pout and a frown. He always looked like that when he was thinking, Riku noted.  
  
Selphie's ears perked up for she was very interested in what they were. Friends? Or maybe already lovers?  
  
"Mmm..." Sora tapped his finger on the ground, looking into all possible directions before looking directly into Riku's eyes.  
  
They stared at each other for some time until Sora grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I don't know."   
  
Selphie groaned but quickly covered her mouth with her hands just in case they could hear her. Riku sighed and gestured Sora to come to him. The younger boy obeyed and crawled onto Riku's lap placing himself so that his back was leaning against Riku's chest.   
  
"What do you think?" he then asked, titling his head up at Riku.  
  
The silver-haired sighed and shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is..." he wrapped his arms around Sora, "that I like spending time with you." and kissed his hair. But that was a lie. Or maybe not a lie but now all of the truth. Riku didn't know what they were, that was true, but he didn't just like spending time with his friend, he loved his friend for what it's worth. He loved him more than anything and that since almost forever.  
  
Sora sighed happily and leaned further back as though he was trying to fuse with Riku.   
  
"You know what? Whatever we are...it's better than anything I ever had. Including my relationship with Kairi." Sora murmured.  
  
Selphie's eyes widened. So they *were* lovers! If Riku was more important than Kairi, what else could they be? Ooooh bad situation, she thought. Bad for Kairi, that is. The situation itself was absolutely sweet!  
  
"Glad to hear that..." Riku murmured back, low and husky as he started to kiss Sora's neck while his heart was jumping in delight. So he really meant more to him than Kairi. He could have screamed of joy but thought it would be better if he just transformed all his happiness into sensuality to please Sora. And it worked.  
  
Soon Sora was shivering from the touches and kisses and began to moan helplessly, melting completely into Riku's embrace.   
  
This was so much better than Kairi. So much better than anything else.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Whee! Now I'm really tired... -_- I spent the whole night writing because it kinda got me when I started and now it's already morning and I'm too tired to post this. I'll post it after I got some sleep, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ^^ and sorry if there are grammar mistakes and spelling mistakes, my english sucks, I know. _ Just...ignore it and focus on the story because I think the idea is what really counts, right? ~RIKUxSORA FOREVER~ *waits for reviews* ^__^  
  
ahh and in case you were wondering what they did to make the room look like a mess... I'm planning to write a lemon some time that tells all the censored stuff in this story ^__^  
  
(this will be on a site though because I know ff.net is cruel -_-)  
  
but I'm not sure when this will happen because I should really stop writing until morning if I don't want to fall asleep at daytime when I have to work and stuff... -_- 


	3. Caught In The Act

Author's Crap: here's the next chapter! wonder what Kairi will do when she finds out?? yeah me too! but first... let's have Selphie play the main character for this chapter!   
  
okay not main character but she will have an important role in this chapter...   
  
And also I would like to thank EVERYONE who reviewed so far, you are really giving me an ego-boost! I wuv you all and I hope I won't disappoint you!  
  
~~~  
  
Riku was kissing his way up from Sora's chest as a cough interrupted them.  
  
"Oh sh--"  
  
Riku looked up to see if anyone was around. But seeing that they were alone on the little isle where the Paopu tree was standing he shrugged it off and drowned again in the beautiful bliss of tasting Sora...  
  
'Phew...' Selphie thought as she hid behind a palm. That was way too close, she really had to be careful...but that damn sand that the wind was bringing up kept flying into her mouth and she coughed again.  
  
"Now what?!" Riku snapped up, looking around as if paranoid. Sora opened his eyes and watched Riku look around.   
  
A smile appeared on his lips as he noticed the slightly annoyed and slightly embarrassed expression. He was so adorable when he was upset.  
  
Another cough.   
  
"Who's there?!" Riku yelled, getting up.  
  
"Stupid sand..." he heard someone whine as his gaze fell on a palm near the little isle. His eyes narrowed and he looked a little closer, eyes widening as he saw something yellow sticking out.  
  
"Selphie?" He tentatively asked.   
  
Another cough was audible and then something sounding like "poop" before a brightly smiling girl jumped out from behind the tree.  
  
"H-hey Riku. Oh and Sora. Didn't know you were there." she said, smiling although she was getting ready to flee. She knew all too good that Riku could beat her up pretty bad, he had beaten her several times. And Sora was getting better too.   
  
"What are you doing here, Selphie?" Sora dumbly asked, totally oblivious to the fact that she had been watching.  
  
The little girl looked around nervously and said, "Um...swimming?" hoping that Riku would stop scowling. It was scary...  
  
The silver-haired however didn't change his expression at all as he dryly asked, "Behind a tree?"  
  
Selphie winced and lowered her head, staring at the sand as she awaited Riku's anger. She didn't fear Sora because he was far too cute to even harm her in the slightest way. Even when they were fighting Selphie still won most of the times. But Riku...Riku was definitely not someone you wanted to get angry.  
  
Sora frowned as Riku suddenly jumped down to swim to her. As he reached to beach he walked over to Selphie and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Don't tell Kairi. Please." his voice was sounding oddly calm. Almost as if he was pleading.  
  
Selphie looked up with a surprised expression and frowned although her heart was a lot lighter now that she knew Riku wasn't angry.  
  
"But..she's my friend. And I think what you're doing is wrong. At least let her know." she murmured, already covering her head with her hands as she awaited Riku's blow.  
  
But all she heard as a sigh and then footsteps that were moving away from her.   
  
"We will tell her. And remember the 'WE' and not 'YOU', okay?" he muttered, swimming back to climb on the isle again. Sora tried to focus on the situation but he couldn't help but stare as he saw Riku coming out of the water - soaking wet and sexy.  
  
Selphie sighed and pondered. What now? She was Kairi's friend and she knew that Sora was cheating on her...but Riku and Sora were also her friends...and besides that...they were so absolutely cute together!  
  
Riku was back on the isle and looked for his shirt while Sora was almost drooling at the sight of his damp chest and secretly hid his shirt so Riku wouldn't put it on again.  
  
"Okay. Promise I won't tell. But only because you two are such a nice couple!"   
  
Selphie called as she swam up to them, shaking her hair like a puppy as she came out.   
  
Riku turned around and blinked, Sora made a noise that sounded like a moan of ecstasy as Riku's dripping hair fluttered through the wind of the spin.   
  
Selphie grinned at Sora's antics and looked up at Riku. "If I were you I'd try to be a little more inconspicuous...Kairi's not stupid, she will notice something if you keep going like this." she paused, seeing that Sora's cheeks were beet red and his eyes were still fixed on Riku. 'I wonder what he's imagining right now....' she thought but shook her head, grinning at Riku.  
  
"I mean, look at Sora." she pointed at him and Riku turned to his friend, raising his eyebrows with an amused smirk.  
  
Cute little Sora was standing there, staring at Riku with an almost worshiping expression in his eyes while a trail of drool was running down from the left corner of his lips. Behind his back he held Riku's shirt.  
  
"Enjoying the sight?" Riku teasingly asked. Sora snapped back and blushed, if possible, even more before tightly grasping the shirt in his hand so he could focus on something else than Riku.   
  
"You know, I'd like to have my shirt back." Riku said, rushed to Sora's side and caught him in a tight embrace. The younger boy immediately leaned in to kiss Riku and Riku gladly responded.   
  
And while they were kissing he secretly took his shirt back smiling into the kiss.   
  
Selphie watched them with a huge grin on her face and 'aww'ed before Riku pulled away to glare at her, telling her to leave or else...   
  
"Fine, fine I'm already gone, don't mind me." She waved at them and 'aww'ed again, dodging just before Sora threw a coconut at her.  
  
"Oh and remember to be careful." she called in the distance.  
  
But Sora and Riku were already in their own little world, kissing like there was no tomorrow.  
  
~~~  
  
~Selphie's Quest~  
  
The little brunette girl was now torn between two sides. On the one side she was Kairi's friend and she felt really sorry for her. Sora was cheating on her with his best friend. And Riku and Kairi had been friends too so wouldn't that totally destroy their friendship?  
  
She sighed. Stupid love triangle.   
  
But then she thought of how adorable Riku and Sora looked together. She'd always felt that way.   
  
Trailing off from her original thought she started wondering what it would be like if they married and had kids...would she be aunt?   
  
Then she remembered that they couldn't have kids, which was a real pity because they sure would have looked cute. A mixture of both Sora and Riku, simply adorable.   
  
Selphie giggled at her weird thoughts but then scowled at herself, trying to get back to the original idea.  
  
She had to do something. Even though she promised Riku not to tell Kairi...  
  
Kairi was still her friend and she wasn't going to lie to her friend.  
  
A sudden idea struck her mind and she nodded to herself, smiling proudly.  
  
Why not find someone for Kairi to fall in love with? If Sora could fall in love with someone, Kairi could too!   
  
Her smile faded as she started pondering again. Who was there to fall in love with? Sora and Riku were out. So...Tidus? No way, Kairi would never fall in love with a crybaby like him!   
  
'...Besides he's mine...' Selphie sighed as she thought of how cute Tidus was when Riku beat him and he started whining.  
  
Shaking her head, she continued to ponder...  
  
Who else? Wakka?   
  
Selphie started laughing insanely at the thought of clumsy Wakka getting together with girlish Kairi.   
  
It must have looked a little (?) weird for an outsider who didn't know what Selphie was thinking for her expression constantly changed, once grinning, then scowling, then grimacing, then smiling, ....  
  
But Selphie didn't care because there was nobody in sight and also, she never really cared about what people thought of her as long as she was happy. And she was. Almost everyday. As if she was on drugs or something... that made her a little too hyperactive for most people... probably for Tidus, too...  
  
Ah but back to topic! She reminded herself again.  
  
So...find someone to fall in love with for Kairi.   
  
....  
  
....  
  
....  
  
This was harder as it seemed!   
  
~~~~  
  
"What do you think we should do? I mean...we have to tell her..." Sora was playing with his shirt, kneading it and curling it to a ball. He was obviously thinking. (lol)  
  
Riku sighed. Somehow he felt really guilty. He, Sora and Kairi had been good friends, they were a trio. But then it started. Kairi was getting closer to Sora. Closer than Riku.   
  
He knew that this was inevitable and so he kept his feelings to himself, watching Sora was more than enough for him. He really never thought of stealing Sora from Kairi. He wouldn't hurt her like that.   
  
Well, he *thought* he wouldn't but he did. And he didn't even have the courage to tell her. No, he was doing it all behind her back while she was still thinking that Sora loved her.   
  
Riku mentally smacked himself. How could he...  
  
Poor Kairi.... no matter how much he had suffered through Kairi being Sora's girlfriend, this was just not fair. And he knew it.  
  
"Yeah, we really have to tell her. Or we even might have to..." Did he really want to say this? That they had to stop?   
  
"Don't say it, Riku." Sora whispered as if he was afraid to speak loud.   
  
Riku sighed. He knew that he loved Sora, he had done since childhood. But what if Sora was just...curious? What if he was still afraid of disappointing Kairi so he tried to get away, run away from his problems by using Riku as an excuse? Would Sora do something like that?  
  
He sighed again. No, Sora wouldn't. Not intentionally.   
  
'Yeah, not intentionally...but what if..what if his subconscious is manipulating him...and I'm just putting Kairi through a hard time?' he thought to himself.  
  
Deep in thoughts he didn't seem to realize that Sora had put his shirt aside and was moving closer to him.  
  
The younger boy slid his arms around his friend and rested his head against his chest.  
  
"Don't think I'll ever want to stop this just because of Kairi." He placed a small kiss on Riku's lips and their eyes met.   
  
Riku couldn't help but feel even guiltier after this statement. Because he knew that he would never let Sora go, not even if he said he didn't want him anymore. Riku couldn't let him go anymore and this made everything even worse considering that they might had to stop all this if they couldn't tell Kairi...  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Okay, sorry for this short and fluff-less chapter! I just needed to get this done or else the story wouldn't have continued.  
  
But... as an indemnity...guess what I've written! Yup, I cut down the sleep and wrote the LEMON I was talking about!! (LOL I'm really starting to get obsessed with writing...)  
  
so...I hope it's ok if I just leave the adress here   
  
http://www.geocities.com/xthecyberiax/privatlesson.html   
  
...it's the little part that should have been at the end of Chapter 1 of Next Lesson ^.~ 


	4. Discovered!

Author's Crap: Next Chapter!!First of all thanks for all the reviews again! and um yeah as for the suggestion of Selphie/Kairi... it was actually the first idea that came to my mind! But then I thought...well I dunno what I thought but somehow when I was writing I typed that Tidus-crush thingy so... yeah Selphie has a crush on Tidus and Kairi... well read it!   
  
~~~  
  
"Wakkaaaaa!" a shrieking voice was audible and Wakka ducked in defence as a yellow rubber ball came flying towards him.   
  
"I didn't do it! I swear, ya?"  
  
The rubber ball, also called Selphie, grinned and shook her head.  
  
"No no you didn't do anything. Not yet! But I need to talk to you!" she urged, a big grin painted on her face.  
  
"Ok, what's the matter, ya?"   
  
Selphie rolled her eyes. Annoying 'ya'.   
  
"Well...you want to beat Riku, right?"   
  
Wakka nodded.   
  
"Good. As you know Riku has no girlfriend." she paused. 'But a boyfriend...' she thought and snickered much to Wakka's confusion.  
  
"Uh, well, so you could theoretically beat him if you had a girlfriend, right?"   
  
Wakka nodded, not really knowing where this was leading.  
  
"Good. What if I told you that Sora is going to break up with Kairi? Would you want to try and see if Kairi wanted you?"  
  
She always knew that Wakka had a little crush on Kairi. And he was very jealous of Riku, especially because Kairi and he were good friends.  
  
"I might...ya." Wakka said after awhile of thinking.  
  
Selphie jumped and did a little happy dance. 'Good job, Selph!' she thought to herself. If Wakka was willing to go and flirt with Kairi she would maybe forget Sora.  
  
"Yay! That's great! I will *so* help you with all of this. First of all we'll get Kairi some flowers, okay?" the cheerful girl went on rambling and Wakka wondered what was going on. He thought it was just a theoretical question.  
  
"You mean Kairi and I will...?" he was stopped by Selphie who shoved a handful of flowers in his hands.  
  
"Yup, you'll flirt with her so she doesn't think of Sora anymore. They'll break up very soon and I don't want her to get mad. And since you've got a crush on her--"  
  
Wakka turned red. "I don't have a crush on her, ya?!"   
  
Selphie just shrugged and tugged on his arm to drag him to a shop. They had to buy a lot of things for Kairi, presents and stuff to make her happy.  
  
'This is the best idea I ever had!' Selphie thought to herself. Though minutes ago she had laughed at the idea of Wakka and Kairi together it seemed that this wasn't too bad at all. She had totally forgotten that Wakka had a crush on her and now that she remembered it was only good that he was the only one left to fall in love with. It would make everyone happy!  
  
~~~~  
  
It was evening and everyone was in a circle around a campfire. Riku and Sora sat purposely not next to each other because it could have been suspicious. They couldn't dare to risk anything in front of Kairi.  
  
Kairi was happily sitting next to Sora and Wakka who was a little nervous. Selphie was sitting next to Wakka just in case he forgot something they had practised before. Riku was sitting next to Tidus. Both saying nothing.  
  
"Hey why don't you go and sit next to Sora?" Selphie cheerfully asked as she poked Riku.  
  
"Why should I?" Riku calmly replied, fully aware of the fact that she could try to blow their cover.  
  
"Because you're friends! Besides, I want to sit next to Tidus so switch places with him or I'll force you to sing 'Only you' to Sora!"  
  
The silver-haired paled and turned to Tidus for switching places. Selphie just *had* to mention Sora. What an annoying girl, he thought. Besides, he hated that song.  
  
"There, sit next to your darling...." he muttered and Selphie grinned. "You, too!"   
  
Sora and Riku shot her a glare but immediately looked away as they noticed that they were doing things in unison. Too suspicious.  
  
Kairi didn't notice anything of this because she was too absorbed in the compliments Wakka stuttered out. He was having a hard time but it seemed that he and Kairi really got along.   
  
"Hey..how about we sneak away as soon as they start to eat?" Riku whispered into Sora's ear, suppressing the urge to nibble on his earlobe.   
  
Sora blushed and pulled away. "N-no. We can't...not when Kairi..." he looked to his side to find Kairi giggling over something Wakka said.   
  
This was weird. It seemed as though she wasn't interested in him at all and Wakka suddenly was the star of her world. Somehow it was good but then again it felt like he was being pushed aside like an old toy.  
  
"Hey, Sora. I challenge you to a duel!" Riku said and grinned as he noticed Sora getting upset because of Kairi and Wakka.  
  
Kairi immediately turned to them and smiled. "Yeah come on Sora, you can beat him!"   
  
Selphie cheered and urged Sora to get up while Riku was already getting his sword out.   
  
"I..um.." Sora frowned. He hadn't fought with Riku for a while. They were always...doing other things.   
  
"Scared of me?" Riku teased and Sora's eyes snapped up. "Of course not!" and he took his wooden sword out, getting ready.  
  
Riku smiled. If he wasn't allowed to be with Sora like he wanted to be he could always fight him to have him near.   
  
They started to move, Sora circling around Riku waiting for him to make the first strike.   
  
"Come on, you first." Riku said, getting into defence stance. Sora stopped and pouted slightly. Riku was always like this. He knew exactly that Riku was waiting for him to attack so he could easily avoid it and let him fall onto his face. But that never kept him from attacking just as Riku wanted.  
  
"You bet!" Sora yelled and ran towards Riku, his grip on the sword tightened as he got ready to strike. Riku just smirked and waited for his friend. Kairi watched them and cheered for Sora while Wakka was desperately trying to get her attention back.   
  
The sword was stretched straight ahead and Sora thrust it towards Riku and, well, fell to the ground.  
  
Riku had easily dodged the attack by stepping aside and coolly looked down to his friend.  
  
"Hey, you alright?" he asked in a mocking tone.  
  
Sora didn't move.   
  
"Hey?" A little worried over his friend, Riku bent down to inspect the boy whose eyes were closed and was surprised by two arms that crushed him down to the younger boy's body.  
  
Riku was now lying on Sora blushing a little as Kairi raised her eyebrows.  
  
"What is he doing? Trying to get crushed by Riku?" she was obviously puzzled.  
  
Sora opened his eyes and stared into Riku's as a smile crept up on his lips.   
  
"Got you." he mouthed, still pressing him down to himself. Riku smirked and leaned in until their noses were touching. Kairi just stared in confusion. They were behaving different from normal. Suddenly Sora let go and Riku jumped up, raising his sword.   
  
"Come on, try again. You did that on purpose."   
  
Sora gave him one of his goofy smiles and stood up.   
  
"I'll definitely beat you!" He called and they started fighting although it was obviously playful.   
  
Sora's heartbeat fastened every time Riku came near him and he couldn't help but trip over things all the time. His clumsy behaviour seemed a little suspicious to Kairi who was intently watching but she thought he was just a little out of it and shrugged it off.   
  
Selphie and Wakka had moved into a corner and talked about what to do next since Selphie wanted Kairi to fall in love with him. While they were talking Tidus listened and started to ask why they were doing all this and Selphie, being herself, couldn't help but tell what was going on and what she planned.   
  
The two boys had both dropped their weapons and were playfully wrestling with each other and Kairi cheered for Sora to get on top since Riku was pinning him down.   
  
Blue met green and Sora stopped all the struggling as he was caught by Riku's eyes. They twinkled like little gemstones...so beautiful. For the first time he had noticed how hypnotizing those eyes were, so deep that you could lose yourself in them.  
  
"I bet you're undressing me with your eyes." Riku stated as he winked at the smaller boy.   
  
"..am not.." Sora pouted and started struggling again. Riku chuckled and got up, leaving Sora a little disappointed since the comforting warmth of the other body was gone.  
  
He dusted himself off and sat down at the fire again.   
  
"Hey! We're still fighting!" Sora called, sitting on the ground with his legs spread, supporting himself with his arms.   
  
Riku waved him off and started to roast a potato. Kairi was still watching them, well, actually she was *staring* at them.   
  
Sora pouted and got up, sneaking up behind Riku. The silver-haired, however, noticed him at once and turned around just when Sora was about to tackle him. Sora was surprised and fell directly into Riku's arms, his face buried in his chest.  
  
Kairi still stared, her eyes slightly narrowing.   
  
Sora's cheeks got red but no matter what he told himself he couldn't get up. He inhaled Riku's scent and nuzzled against his chest, not caring if anyone was watching.  
  
"Hey how about we go looking for some seashells? Wakka is *the* champion in finding beautiful shells!" Selphie suddenly exclaimed and dragged Kairi away before she could start to think over the things she had just seen, Wakka and Tidus followed.  
  
The four of them ran towards the water and disappeared eventually.  
  
The two boys were left alone.  
  
"Finally.." came a muffled statement. Riku chuckled and pulled Sora up so they were face to face.  
  
"You know, you look extremely cute when you're pouting." he said, leaning in to kiss Sora's nose before Sora punched him lightly on the arm.  
  
"No I don't." he pouted, making Riku's heart melt as he saw the adorable lips pursed together, almost as if begging for a kiss.  
  
Before they knew what they were doing, Sora and Riku started kissing and nibbling, not caring if anyone was around. Riku ran his hands through Sora's hair and nuzzled his cheek before kissing his ear. He would have gone berserk if he had to hold in any longer. Thankfully Selphie had taken care of the situation, maybe she wasn't going to bother them but really helping them.   
  
Sora sighed happily as he felt Riku's hands roam through his wild hair, massaging the back of his head.  
  
A light cough interrupted them and both of them looked up to see Selphie standing before them, hands on her hips.  
  
"Didn't I tell you to be careful? Kairi's coming back very soon! I told them that I going to look for you just in case you set anything on fire! You should better be thankful that she's not a suspicious type of person!" she scolded, her cheery attitude gone.   
  
Sora pulled away and looked down, staring at the sand. He had almost forgotten about Kairi while being with Riku but now it came back again. They still had to tell her...somehow. It couldn't go on like this.   
  
"But you two are so cute..." she quietly said, suddenly smiling again. "I saw you fighting. Sora was practically throwing himself at you." She shook her head and grinned.   
  
"You should be really thankful that Kairi didn't notice how much you two are in love with each other."  
  
Sora's eyes widened and he blushed furiously. What did she just say? In love? Were they really in love? Well, Sora knew that he really liked Riku...really, really liked him. And he liked to kiss him and everything. But love? Really in love? It was...kind of early to say that, wasn't it?  
  
Riku just smiled but suddenly winced as he saw Kairi approaching, his guilty conscience getting stronger.  
  
"Selphie, you gotta see this! Tidus and Wakka are fighting with a huge lobster!" she beamed and Selphie laughed before running to see the spectacle. Kairi glanced at Sora and Riku who were both facing the ground before she followed Selphie.  
  
She wasn't stupid. Kairi saw everything while they were 'fighting'... She wasn't as dumb as everyone thought though she didn't want to admit what she was already suspecting. As long as there was no proof it didn't mean that Sora was really...  
  
Riku sighed heavily and shook his head.  
  
"If we can't tell her we have to--" But Sora threw himself at him and silenced him with his lips.  
  
After a long kiss he pulled away just a little bit.   
  
"No. Please. Don't say we have to stop. We don't have to. We can tell Kairi...somehow." his voice was so quiet that Riku almost didn't hear it.  
  
"Just forget it for now. Just for this moment." Sora whispered and kissed Riku again.  
  
It almost seemed as though Riku was more interested in Kairi's feelings than Sora although Sora was her boyfriend. Weird...what was Sora thinking?  
  
~~~  
  
Wakka, Tidus and Selphie were still playing around with the lobster while Kairi decided to keep her distance and went for a walk.  
  
She had a lot of things to think about. Lately Sora and Riku had been together almost the whole day and Kairi felt like Sora didn't even think about her anymore.  
  
It was just as though they were... NO, there was no proof and she didn't want a proof for this. They were just friends and Kairi was Sora's girlfriend, his love. Yes, this was the way it was supposed to be.  
  
Kairi walked around without looking where she was going and continued to think. If they were just friends then why were they behaving like this today? Sora was practically throwing himself at Riku all the time...  
  
She shook her head and stopped.   
  
As she looked around her eyes caught two figures in the moonlight. Riku and Sora? She narrowed her eyes and walked a little closer to see who it was.  
  
She stopped. No. This wasn't true. This wasn't happening.   
  
Kairi's hands were trembling as she felt the urge to vomit. This. Was. Not. Happening.  
  
She stared in horror at the two figures currently kissing and touching each other places that she didn't even want to think about. And it wasn't about what they were doing...it was more who they were!  
  
This was impossible, this was not real, this was simply wrong!   
  
How could her boyfriend and his best friend?! How could they be making out?! Here! Before her eyes! How...how..how?!  
  
Kairi wanted to go to them and beat Riku up. Yes, that was what she wanted to do. Beat Riku to a pulp for doing this to *her* Sora. He must have drugged him with something to make him like this, she thought.   
  
Her Sora would never cheat on her! And...and not with a *boy*! Because...because that would mean that he was gay and Kairi refused to ever think that.   
  
"Riku..." she clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. They had been friends but now she was definitely going to strangle him to death. Sora was, of course, just the victim. Kairi would never imagine that Sora wanted all of this, not intentionally.   
  
Riku must have done something to him, this was the only possibility.   
  
"Riku...." she growled as she stomped away into her house.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Um...review please? I really don't know what you think of this chapter so please tell me! ^^ Finally Kairi caught them! How is she going to react?   
  
Will she strangle Riku to death?? Will she throw herself out of a window? (*kairi-haters cheer*) or will something totally unexpected happen?? Everything will be in the Next Chapter! I hope I can get it up tomorrow since I try to update every day. Oh and...does this fic have too much plot and too little fluff? ^-^' or too little plot and too little fluff?   
  
Well, like I said, please keep reviewing ^__^ 


	5. We Need A Resolution

Author's Crap: Soooorrrrry for the delay! I know I said I'd have it up the next day but somehow I couldn't get anything done...  
  
I hope this is okay now. And yes I think this Selphie/Kairi thing could be something I'll eventually write... because this was the first thing that came to my mind...  
  
Okay and of course, like always: THANKS for the reviews! I got sooo many reviews and I'm so glad that you all read and like my story!! I really hope you like this chapter, too!  
  
~~~  
  
The next day....  
  
"Kairi! Kairi, I've been looking for you!" Sora called as he saw his girlfriend sitting at the piers.   
  
"Hey Sora." She answered, sounding a little odd...   
  
"Um, Kairi are you ok?"   
  
Kairi scratched her head and gave him a little smile. "Of course I am."  
  
Sora nodded and took her hand. "Hey wanna come with us? We wanted to explore that cave Tidus found."  
  
But Kairi pulled away and sighed. "Will Riku be there, too?"  
  
Sora instantly stiffened. Riku? Why was she asking about Riku?   
  
"Uh..yeah...Riku, Wakka, Selphie, Tidus and me." He hoped Kairi wouldn't get suspicious. He had been hanging (or rather making ^^) out with Riku a lot lately.  
  
The girl smiled although it was visible that it was a fake smile.  
  
"So you just invite me because everyone else is going, huh?"   
  
That struck Sora's heart. What did she just say?  
  
"No! No we... I..." This was getting complicated. What should he say? 'We' as meant for him and Riku so she didn't feel as if they were blocking her out? But wouldn't that indicate that they were somehow together?   
  
"You could have told me, you know." Kairi suddenly said, turning away to face the sea.  
  
"Told you what?" Sora dumbly asked. Was she...? Did she...? He hoped it was not as he thought it was.   
  
The girl turned silent and shook her head.   
  
Silence.  
  
"Because..." she continued after a while as if he hadn't asked anything.   
  
"..it's not fair to lie to me like that." She turned to him again, facing him with a serious expression.  
  
Sora immediately felt as though he had just been kicked into the stomach. So Kairi really knew about him and Riku? But hadn't Selphie promised to not say anything? Had she betrayed them?  
  
'Selphie...' he thought but quickly focused his mind on Kairi. This was more important now. How should he react? What should he do now? They still hadn't talked about how they would tell her.  
  
Kairi watched Sora's face twist and sighed. "No Selphie didn't tell me anything." she said and Sora's head snapped up to her.  
  
"She didn't? But then..."  
  
The girl snorted in disgust and narrowed her eyes at Sora. "Well, you really would like to know that, huh?"  
  
Sora just nodded, not getting her sarcasm and she sighed again.   
  
"I know because...." she paused to take a deep breath. Sora waited and tensed.  
  
"Because...." she smiled but just for a short while before it faded.  
  
"I SAW YOU TWO MAKING OUT ON THE BEACH!!!"   
  
.....  
  
Sora gaped. She what?  
  
"I was just walking around to think about some things and then I saw someone on the beach and I thought it was you. And guess what? It WAS you only that RIKU was ON TOP OF YOU and just about to shove his tongue down your throat while you were moaning like a....."  
  
Sora blushed furiously and lowered his head while Kairi continued ranting and occasionally screaming something. She was furious and her voice pierced through Sora's ears.  
  
This was so embarrassing. It wasn't only for the fact that she now knew about them but that she had actually seen them and heard them.   
  
He didn't want Kairi to find it out like that. He had wanted to tell her, he really wanted it but he just didn't know how to. And now she..  
  
"But you know what?" Kairi suddenly as her voice dropped down from enraged to disgust.  
  
"I don't blame you."   
  
Sora looked up at her again, the hope in his eyes was almost blinding.  
  
"I blame Riku." she coldly said, crushing all his hopes along with his heart.   
  
'No...don't blame him...' he thought. He would have been able to bear it if Kairi blamed him but Riku? No, he didn't want her to blame him, not his Riku. This was not fair.  
  
"Kairi, it was my fault!" he yelled but Kairi shook her head.  
  
"No Sora. I don't know *what* exactly he has done with you but you're not the same person anymore. You're not my Sora. He has done something to you and I hate him for that!" she almost cried.  
  
Sora frowned. What was she thinking? That Riku drugged him or something? Why couldn't she accept that he simply loved him!  
  
Sora stopped. Had he just...?   
  
Yes...he loved Riku. There was no doubt about that. He loved Riku and this was the reason Kairi thought he wasn't the same person anymore. Sora was in love and therefore a little out of it, he admitted. But it wasn't Riku's fault. She shouldn't hate him...  
  
While he was deep in thoughts Kairi turned around to leave  
  
"Goodbye." she said as she started walking and Sora looked at her, wanting to stop her but she turned around, glaring at him and growled.  
  
"You know, you're pretty lucky that I'm not in a bad mood today. But if you come across me again, I swear, you'll get some serious troubles. And if I see Riku you better hope that hell's got a vacant room."  
  
Sora just stared at her, still not believing what was happening. Kairi couldn't...she...  
  
"I hope you all rot in hell." She growled before turning again to run off.  
  
Sora stared at the place she had been standing and opened his mouth. No sound came out. And even if there was sound, she wouldn't hear it because she was gone. And she didn't want to see him ever again.  
  
'What have I done?' he asked himself. 'What have I....'   
  
It was too late. He had screwed up and this was what he got.   
  
He got up, glaring at the sun that was cheerfully shining down as if it was laughing at him. What now?   
  
He remembered that the others were still waiting for him but the last thing he wanted was to be around a bunch of happy idiots - no he didn't saw them as idiots but right now he was more than annoyed with everything happy and cheerful.  
  
What should he do? He had just lost a friend. A good friend. His girlfriend.  
  
Could he just go back to Riku and be happy? It would probably not work.  
  
Because no matter how much he loved - yes loved - his silver-haired friend, he also cared for Kairi even if she hated them both. Well, she had the right to hate them after all...  
  
Sighing, Sora walked to his home and locked himself in his room. He had things to think about.   
  
~~~  
  
"Sora? Sora, come on, open up!" Riku called. Sora had locked himself in his room for hours now and Riku was banging on the door for him to open.   
  
"Go away, Riku..." came a muffled reply.   
  
"Sora, come on! Why don't you open? What happened?" He asked, trying to get in.  
  
After a long time of silence the younger boy finally opened the door, looking kind of depressed.  
  
Riku frowned and entered the room, seating himself on Sora's bed.  
  
"Hey - don't sit on my bed..." Sora muttered, crawling into his bed before trying to push Riku away. He was acting like a five year old in a bad mood.  
  
"What happened?" Riku asked while successfully holding Sora back from pushing him off the edge. Somehow it was cute, Riku noted. But then again Sora was *always* cute, no matter what he did.  
  
The younger boy grunted and plopped down on the bed.   
  
"I was thinking." he stated.  
  
Riku raised his eyebrows. "Oh you mean there's actually something in your head?" he teased. Okay, maybe not really intelligent but this situation screamed for it. And also, he always said that to him, he should be used to it.  
  
Sora growled and sat up to throw a pillow at Riku.  
  
"Shut up. Kairi found out about us! She saw us! She hates us, especially you! She thinks you stole me from her! And I was thinking how to make everything okay before you came here and made fun of me!!" Sora yelled in frustration.  
  
Riku just stared at him. What did he just say? Kairi knew? She saw them? She hated him?  
  
"Um..." he began, not quite sure what to say. Also, Sora had just yelled at him and behaved like there was nothing between them. The last days they had spend their time kissing and making out but now Sora was acting totally different.  
  
It was obvious that Sora cared a lot for Kairi and what she thought. Although he always said that she was nothing compared to Riku and that she wasn't important, Riku could still feel how upset Sora was because of this now.  
  
Sora climbed out of the bed to retrieve the pillow that fell to the ground while it hit Riku and fumbled with the edges of it.   
  
"I don't want her to hate you....or me. I want us to be friends..." he murmured.  
  
Riku frowned. What was he supposed to do? Well, Kairi had the right to hate him, he *had* stolen Sora from her. She definitely had the right to hate him. But to see Sora upset was something Riku hated. Thus, they had to do something about it. Riku thought for a while, Sora looking at him with eyes full of expectation. Since Riku was always the one with the ideas, maybe he could come up with something good.  
  
But all he could think of was how sorry he was. He felt so guilty because of Kairi and he couldn't think of anything to make it better.   
  
"Hey." Sora said, slightly pouting after Riku didn't respond.   
  
"Riku!" Sora called and threw the pillow at Riku again. It hit Riku on the head and brought his attention back to Sora.  
  
"Huh? Sorry...I was thinking..." the silver-haired murmured.  
  
"Well?" Sora asked. Riku just had to have an idea.  
  
But his friend shook his head. "You know, Kairi really has the right to hate me..."   
  
Another pillow. 'What's with Sora and his pillows today??' Riku thought. But after the fourth time he'd been hit by a pillow he started to chuckle and threw it back at Sora, hitting directly his face.   
  
Sora pouted and somehow they started a pillow fight. Neither of them really knew why they were doing this or who started it but as they were surrounded by pillows and blankets, the bed shifting at their movements both couldn't help but laugh and fight like their life was depending on it. Pillows flew, blankets flew, and everything was thrown across the room.  
  
While Sora was laughing Riku climbed on top of him and pinned him down to steal a little kiss from him. Sora stopped laughing and smiled at Riku just before throwing another pillow at his face.  
  
Riku growled and Sora started to laugh again, trying to get off the bed to hide somewhere.   
  
The fight went on for a couple of hours until they both got exhausted. Sora was lying on his bed while Riku sat on the floor.  
  
The room looked as if two little kids had been locked here for too long. Pillows everywhere, the blanket sprawled on the ground, the sheets rumpled and a whole lot of other things were messed up.  
  
"...we still have to do something about Kairi..." Sora suddenly murmured after a long time of silence.  
  
Riku sighed and leaned his head against the bed.   
  
"Yeah. But what do you want to do? We can't just go an apologize...."  
  
~~~~  
  
"If I ever see one of them again, I'll kill them." Kairi growled and Selphie sighed.  
  
Sure, she was angry and she really had the right to be but did she have to talk about killing them? And even if they tried to avoid each other, the island wasn't that big. They would see each other soon enough.   
  
"I don't get it, Sel. I really don't get it. How can they just..I mean...boys..." Kairi was furious and at a loss of words. Mostly because she wanted to swear and curse but didn't know any bad words.  
  
Selphie sighed again and patted Kairi's back.   
  
"Come on, I know you're angry but--"   
  
Bad move.   
  
Kairi glared at her with a fire in her eyes that sent a chill through her spine.   
  
"But what?" she growled.  
  
Selphie smiled nervously and shook her head. "Uh, nothing, nothing. You should let it out...yeah.. um..." she jumped up, imitating a cheerleader and called. "GO KAIRI GO! Give me a K, give me an A, give me an I..."   
  
Kairi just looked at her friend, maybe a little annoyed and shook her head before turning away.  
  
Selphie sighed again and slumped her shoulders forward.   
  
"You know what? Screw those boys. Who needs boys."   
  
Kairi suddenly said as she turned back to face Selphie.  
  
The younger girl raised her eyebrows. "What? Does that mean you're not angry with them?"  
  
Kairi was silent for a while but then she shrugged. "I just don't want to think about them right now."  
  
Selphie smiled and nodded. "Good! Because I think the same way! Boys are dense! Tidus is *so* clueless though I'm throwing myself at him. I think he's too young to realize what mature feelings I harbour."  
  
Kairi blinked. And laughed.  
  
"'Mature feelings I harbour'? Have you been reading those novels again, Sel?"   
  
Selphie pouted and shrugged. "What? I'm a thirteen-year-old girl, I need those sappy romance novels if I can't get a boyfriend. Tidus is just a kid and Wakka is...well, he's more like a big fluffy teddy bear." Selphie laughed and Kairi nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Right. We just don't have the right boys here....so just screw them, okay? We don't need them!"   
  
Kairi seemed determined and so was Selphie.  
  
"Cool! Girl power!" Selphie squealed and Kairi laughed, shaking her head.  
  
But on the inside Kairi was still furious and felt like strangling Sora and Riku....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Okay, I'm still not finished with this story! Yeah because...Riku and Sora have to try to make up to Kairi...and Kairi and Selphie have to do something or else this chapter was useless... and of course, Sora and Riku both must confess that they're in love with each other. Neither of them has said anything but they both know it now...so it's time, huh?  
  
Okidoki, hope I get some reviews again! Until the next chapter.... ^^ 


	6. This Girl Is Crazy

Author's Ranting: wee again so many reviews! thank you thank you thank you ^^  
  
sorry this chapter will contain almost no fluff -_- because I had to put soo much plot in it...there was no space for fluff  
  
well, maybe in the next chapter! (and yes, this story is not finished, there is soo much more to write about! ^^)  
  
~~~  
  
After the pillow fight Sora fell asleep. It had been a rough day after all. First the encounter with Kairi, her screaming and yelling was very exhausting and then all the thinking. Sora wasn't a good thinker. And as if this wasn't enough, the pillow fights with Riku. This was probably the most tiring (but funniest) event today. They had fought for hours with a determination as though their life was depending on it. Very tiring.  
  
So Sora had fallen asleep shortly after he stated that they needed to think of something.   
  
Riku was now kneeling beside him on the floor, watching his beautiful friend sleeping peacefully. He had this clueless expression when he slept... well...not that he didn't look clueless and absolutely cute when he was awake. He was always so damn cute. And he was Riku's. Kairi finally knew what was going on and now they weren't together anymore. So Riku could really say that Sora was his. Or at least he hoped so. Because they hadn't confessed anything to each other yet. Riku was madly in love with Sora, he'd been ever since childhood but he hadn't had the courage to say anything about it. And now that they were making out and kissing, he still hadn't said anything.   
  
He was a little afraid of what it would mean and how Sora would react. Being friends and kissing and fooling around was one thing. But really loving someone...it meant a lot more. And maybe he would scare Sora away if he started to tell him what he was thinking.  
  
"..Cheesecake...too..."   
  
A quite inarticulate mumble escaped the pink lips of the boy Riku was watching.   
  
"Cheese-cake?" Riku raised his eyebrows and chuckled. Sora was *so* cute.. Dreaming of cheesecake....what a boy. Riku couldn't suppress his smile, every time he looked at Sora he just had to smile no matter how bad he felt.  
  
He reached up to brush back the strands that were hanging over Sora's forehead and caressed the soft skin with the back of his fingernails. The younger boy seemed to smile at the gesture but then started to mumble something about 'fried chicken' and Riku quickly covered his mouth with his hand to stop him from laughing loudly and waking his sleeping cutie.   
  
"What a glutton..." he muttered and bent down to kiss Sora's forehead.   
  
He left the room even if it cost him a lot of will power to leave the adorable boy and went for a walk. Maybe the fresh air would help him to think properly.  
  
Riku walked over the bridge to the little isle of the Paopu tree and stopped in front of it. He smiled and remembered when he and Sora were rolling on the grass, wrestling and laughing and then kissing. He could see it before him and his heart immediately warmed inside. About a week ago he would have never thought that this was possible and now they were really together...somehow at least. That brought him back to the thing he wanted to figure out. What were they? No one of them had said anything about it, Sora claimed to not know what they were. Boyfriends? That sounded so weird. Riku had never had a boyfriend... not even a girlfriend.   
  
And Sora had had one so somehow the term boyfriend would sound so weird....Sora wasn't...wasn't like that. And Riku wasn't like that either, he just happened to fall in love with his best friend. Shit happens. Well, but in this case it was definitely not shit but the most wonderful thing in the world. He could have bounced around and squealed like a stupid teenage girl but he forced it down. He didn't want to act like Kairi.   
  
Kairi...another thing he had to figure out. What should they do about her? It was a good thing that she now knew and didn't want to see them again...they could be in peace now. But they had to fear that she would maim and kill them if they came across her. So...not so good.   
  
Maybe he should face her and talk things out...explain everything and try to apologise. It could work, there was at least a chance. Better than doing nothing, Riku thought and decided to look for Kairi.  
  
~~~  
  
"We don't need boys because we have each other, right?" Kairi said, sounding very determined...almost bossy. Selphie nodded and punched the air.   
  
"Yeah! Boys are *so* lame! And they're clueless about everything. We are so much smarter!" she giggled and danced around. She seemed to be totally excited. But then again, she was always like that. Hyperactive rubber ball...  
  
Kairi smiled and nodded. "Sora wasn't even a good boyfriend! I tell you, he's afraid of the dark and whenever something happens, *I* have to take care of it! He's such a baby!"   
  
Selphie bounced around and grinned. "Yeah! He's a crybaby! He falls down and starts to cry because his leg is hurt. I mean, what is he? Five?"  
  
The girls suddenly found it very amusing to make fun of the boys.   
  
"Yeah and have you seen Riku's pants? He looks like a clown!"  
  
"And he thinks he's the coolest guy but look at his hair! They're longer than yours and almost as long as mine! He looks like a girl!"  
  
"Sora always wears those ridiculous big shoes! Have you ever wondered why they are so big??"  
  
"Maybe his feet are so huge. Or maybe they're so ugly that he tries to hide them in giant shoes."  
  
"And Riku..."  
  
They went on making fun of everyone, laughing at them and sometimes just call them silly names. It wasn't like Selphie was mad at Riku or Sora or at any other boy. It was just that Kairi was her friend and she wanted to make her feel better.   
  
'Though I said we don't need boys...Tidus is still cute..' she thought while Kairi said another thing about Sora.   
  
~~~  
  
The silver-haired sighed as he reached the piers where he saw Selphie and Kairi talking and laughing. Good. So she wasn't angry.   
  
He came a little closer but remained unnoticed by them as they were currently laughing about Sora's gloves.  
  
"And they look so horrible, too!" Selphie squealed. She really didn't mean anything of what she said and she almost felt a little bad for making fun of her friends.   
  
Riku listened for a while and asked himself if it would be good to interrupt them. Maybe he should just leave them and wait until Kairi forgot about everything, she usually was a very forgiving person...  
  
"...And Riku--" Selphie was just about to say something again as her eyes caught someone standing far too near them. "And Riku..." she stuttered. "...is standing right behind us." She squealed, jumping up to hug him.  
  
"Oh Riku I'm so glad to see you! How are you? everything okay? Okay! You didn't hear anything, did you? It's not like we were talking about you or something so just, um, buhbye!"   
  
The hyper girl waved at Kairi and called 'sorry' before running off like a crazy rabbit. She was still afraid that Riku would beat her up, her fear didn't fade after he hadn't beaten her the last time.   
  
Riku looked at Kairi and Kairi looked back, her expression blank.  
  
'What is she thinking..? Is she going to leap on me and strangle me as soon as I move?' Riku bit his lip and considered what to do. Kairi didn't move.   
  
"Um...h-hey." Riku awkwardly said, extending a hand to Kairi.  
  
Kairi looked at the hand, a little disgusted and slapped him. Hard.  
  
Riku stood there a little dumbfounded, his cheek burning red. Well, he should have seen this coming. How foolish it was to think that Kairi would just take the hand and befriend with him again.  
  
"Kairi..." he began again but stopped as he caught the hand that was flying towards his cheek.   
  
"Kairi stop! You don't have to slap me! Just...listen, okay?"   
  
The girl glared at him but relaxed her hand and let it fall down beside her.  
  
Riku sighed and looked down.  
  
"I know you hate me..." he muttered.  
  
"Oh yes I do. I really do." Kairi hissed and it felt like toxic in Riku's ears.  
  
"But...you, you have to understand...or...at least let me explain..." He murmured, looking up at her again. Kairi was looking at him through narrowed eyes.  
  
"Go on." She growled.   
  
At least she didn't kill him right off.  
  
Riku took a deep breath and sat down.  
  
"Kairi...we've been friends...for years. You, Sora and I. We're a trio, remember? Or at least we were before..."   
  
Kairi cut him off. "Yeah and then YOU stole him from me!!" She yelled, punching him on the arm. Luckily Kairi wasn't much of fighter but more a whiny little girl.  
  
Riku shook his head. "No. We were a trio before you claimed him. And I wasn't mad at you, I never blamed you. Because I thought we were friends and as long as you and Sora were happy it would be okay with me."  
  
Kairi stopped.  
  
"I never hated you just because you took the only one I ever loved. Before you came, Sora and I were inseparable, there wasn't a time were weren't together. And even when you came to us we were still best friends, together with you. It was perfect, Kairi because I liked you as my friend as well as Sora. But when you two started dating and all....I knew it would be like that one way or another. But that didn't drive away the hurt I was feeling."  
  
Kairi silently watched Riku and listened.  
  
"The day he came to me and asked me to teach him how to kiss. It was for you, Kairi. He was so nervous about disappointing you because he had never kissed anyone before. And...I helped him...I thought I could just help and pretend it didn't affect me at all...and I really did. Until we were in his room and..."  
  
The girl suddenly laughed. Riku stopped and stared at her in confusion. Kairi's laughter stopped and she turned to face Riku.  
  
"You think this is going to make me forgive you? You think that telling me how much you sicko love MY Sora will make me forgive and forget?! You think I'm that stupid?! You stole MY boyfriend!!"  
  
She got up and leaped towards Riku to choke him. She didn't feel heartbroken for what they did to her but she was simply furious for them thinking that she was clueless about everything.  
  
"You think I'm just a stupid girl?! You don't know me at all, Riku! I will be your worst nightmare for you stole MY Sora, he was MINE and he will stay mine!!" she screamed.  
  
Riku was scared. He really was. This girl was obviously going crazy.   
  
"Kairi--Stop-!" Riku choked, trying to push her off.   
  
"I hate you! I hate you! I..."   
  
Kairi let go and sank down on the ground.  
  
Silence.  
  
Riku stared at the girl that was crouching on the ground, trembling slightly.  
  
"Kairi..." he said, crawling closer to her.  
  
"No...go away...leave me alone..."   
  
Her voice sounded so strange..it was quiet and not as hostile as before.  
  
"Kairi, please..."  
  
Riku fell silent and Kairi just sat there, not moving.  
  
A long time passed by and nothing happened. Until suddenly, the girl moved.  
  
She looked up and stared at Riku as if she was studying him or trying to read his mind.   
  
Then her eyes turned away and she sighed.  
  
"You really love him?"   
  
"Yes."  
  
Without hesitation Riku had answered. It was his heart speaking and there was no better answer.  
  
"Good..." Kairi quietly replied. "If...if you two really love each other...then...then it's okay I guess..."  
  
Riku blinked. This was sure a surprise. First she was furious and trying to kill him and now she was understanding??  
  
"Are you sure??"   
  
Kairi looked up and shrugged. "You must think I'm crazy, I know. But...while strangling you I realized something..."  
  
Riku chuckled. Yeah, strangling something is sure a way to figure things out.  
  
"If you two are in love...then it must be something much stronger than the thing between Sora and me. Because...we were together because it was normal. A boy and a girl. Growing up together. Growing closer. It was...expected or something. It doesn't mean that I don't love Sora, I really wanted to be his girlfriend. But maybe...it's just a crush. Girls tend to have crushes... but if you...if you two really... because you are both boys and...and it's not normal. Not that I'm against it...I guess... but if you two found each other although you're both boys...doesn't that mean that you two are kind of...meant for each other?"  
  
Riku gaped. It was impossible that this was Kairi.  
  
"Kairi are you ok?"   
  
Kairi nodded and got up.  
  
"I'm not saying that we're all friends again. I'm just saying that I guess you two don't need me. And therefore...I won't kill you, don't worry. I know when I'm unwanted."  
  
And thus she walked away, leaving Riku in total confusion although he felt a little relieved after hearing what she said.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Kay like I said before, no fluff and too much plot. Oh, and a crazed Kairi LOL. I don't know why I wrote that it just kinda happened.   
  
So don't email me about putting Kairi into a mad-house, she's not insane (she's not even a real person) so just forget it. It's part of the story that everyone is OOC and crazy.  
  
And Wakka is a teddy bear. Yeah. ¬¬   
  
Okies now enough ranting, reviewwww pleaaaaaaase because I loooooveee reviewwwwws almost as much as Riku *drools* ^_^   
  
eheh...ja ne! 


	7. Treasure

Author's Ranting: whee another chapter...finally got to write it! (I had this friggin writer's block....grr...)  
  
So...Kairi's out of the way (for now at least) and now it's time for Riku and Sora to confess, right? So... GO RIKU GO! *dances around like a silly cheerleader* ahem...whoops...guess I should stop drinking so much coffee....O_o  
  
Anywayz ignore my random rambling and read the story! ^^  
  
~~~  
  
Sora was hunched over his chair as Riku knocked on his door. He'd just woken up and was a little groggy, it was only five in the morning after all.   
  
"Come in.." he muttered, absently rubbing his eyes while he tried not to fall down from the chair.   
  
Riku entered and smiled, his smile almost blinding Sora. It was brighter than the sun, it was brighter than anything else Sora had seen in his life.  
  
"...what?" The younger boy asked as Riku's smile didn't falter. It was almost a little scary...  
  
The silver-haired plopped down on Sora's bed and twiddled his thumbs, his smile still sending blinding rays.   
  
"Guess what." He said, unable to hold back his good mood.   
  
Sora yawned and shrugged. "What?"  
  
Riku chuckled and shook his head. "I said guess." He could be so difficult. He knew exactly that Sora wasn't good with guessing and especially not when he just woke up. His brain wasn't working yet.  
  
"Come on, Riku..." Sora whined but Riku shook his head. The younger boy pouted, trying to look really angry so Riku would be afraid and tell him what had happened though Riku just chuckled and stuck out his tongue.  
  
"Nah that's not going to work, Sora. You know you're way too cute to look angry."   
  
Sora pouted even more, looking impossibly like an infant and blew out his breath noisily.   
  
"Ok I'll guess....you beat up Tidus until he was crying?" It was a random guess, he wasn't in the mood for thinking. Riku laughed but shook his head.  
  
"You beat up Wakka until he was crying?" He shook his head again.  
  
"Selphie until she was crying?"   
  
Riku frowned. Why did Sora think he had to beat someone up until they were crying to be happy?? Couldn't he have a normal reason to be happy?  
  
"What's with you and beating up people? I'm not like that..."  
  
Sora yawned again and rested his head on the armrest of the chair. He was kind of curled up in the seat, his hands holding on to the armrest while his head lay on them. It was funny how someone could sit like that in a chair and be comfortable with it.  
  
"Then teeeeeellllllll meeee." Sora whined, again sounding like a five year old. His baby blue eyes pleaded at Riku, having that sad puppy look.   
  
The silver-haired sighed and leaned back to lie down on the bed he'd been sitting. His arms over his head, he sighed, contently.   
  
"It talked to Kairi."   
  
Silence.   
  
Sora was still curled up in the chair, not moving. Riku didn't move either. He waited for Sora's response.   
  
After not getting any he sat up again to look at the younger boy.   
  
"...Sora?"  
  
No response.   
  
"Sora? Hey..." He stood and walked over to his friend, poking him slightly.   
  
"Sora? Hello?"   
  
The young boy was snoring again, his lips slightly parted, making Riku shake his head with a smile. He envied Sora for this ability. Sora was always able to sleep, no matter in what situation, he could always fall asleep and sleep like a baby. Unlike Riku who was always the last to fall asleep and the first to wake up.   
  
But he decided that this wasn't a good time for sleep and pushed Sora down from the chair, making him fall to the ground.  
  
"Whoops.." He hadn't intended to make him fall, he just wanted to wake him.  
  
The younger boy didn't seem to mind and continued sleeping on the floor.  
  
"Oh come on that's not funny." Riku muttered and shook Sora slightly. He was having the feeling that Sora just pretended to sleep. It was impossible to sleep like that.  
  
"Sora I'm warning you. If you don't open your eyes right now I'll be forced to..."  
  
He paused to think. Forced to do what?   
  
It was then when he noticed that adorable expression on Sora's face again. He remembered the time he first woke up beside him, seeing that innocent face that always made him smile. If cuteness hurt Sora would be screaming in pain. He was cuteness in person.   
  
Bending down to the sweet lips he placed a little kiss on them, smiling as he pulled away.  
  
And just like in the fairy tales, Sora opened his eyes, smiling at Riku just as though he'd been waiting for this.  
  
"You did that on purpose..." Riku muttered.   
  
Sora gave him his most innocent look and Riku couldn't help but 'awww' like Selphie. ...wait, that's scary...  
  
After Sora was finally fully awake Riku told him what happened between him and Kairi.   
  
"So she isn't going to kill us?" Sora was relieved. He had seen Kairi's anger and didn't want to see it again. But he was worried about her. The sudden understanding was a little weird...was she planning something?  
  
"Don't worry about it. For now we should be safe..and happy." Riku smiled once again and Sora wondered if his cheeks would start to hurt from all the smiling. He also wondered why Riku was so happy about it. Sure, he was happy too but Riku seemed to see more behind this. Sora wondered what it was.  
  
"When did you go to sleep? It's only five in the morning and you're knocking on my door?" He asked in order to find out if there was anything else Riku knew.   
  
The silver-haired shrugged and twiddled his thumbs again.   
  
"I've been out the whole night. Talking to Kairi and then...I was thinking." Riku had been sitting on the Paopu tree the whole night, thinking of a way to tell Sora that he was in love with him. He wasn't sure whether Sora was feeling the same so he didn't know how to make it sound neutral enough to not scare him away and truthfully enough for him to understand what it meant. Since Riku was never able to sleep very long he stayed up the whole night thinking and surprisingly he wasn't tired at all. Maybe it was the tension that kept him awake.  
  
The sudden warmth of another body ripped Riku out of his thoughts and he felt two arms from behind snaking around his waist. The breath of Sora tickled his neck as he felt the younger boy hugging him.   
  
"What were you thinking about?" Sora asked, titling his head to the side so he could see Riku.   
  
His friend turned his head to smile at Sora and gave him a peck on the lips.   
  
"Us."  
  
Sora pulled away and blushed. He then let go of Riku and crawled onto his lap, looking at him questioningly.   
  
"What...do you mean?" He frowned.   
  
Riku sighed. Though he had spent the whole night thinking he hadn't thought of anything good and before he thought he'd get frustrated he walked back to Sora. Maybe he could just tell him and wait for his reaction.   
  
But how would it work? They were just sitting here and should he suddenly say 'I'm in love with you'? Would that make sense? Riku wanted to wait for the right moment.   
  
"Um...I'll tell you later. How about we go out and watch the sunrise?" He suggested and Sora beamed.   
  
"Cool! We could try and catch some fish! They're always near the shore at this time."  
  
Riku chuckled and nodded. Sora was so easily excited. You could make him happy with the silliest little things.  
  
~~~  
  
The whole island was still sleeping except for two boys running along the beach, their footprints leading to the water.   
  
"I bet I can catch more!" Sora called, running towards the water.   
  
Riku smirked and also ran towards the water, much faster than Sora.   
  
"In your dreams!"   
  
They both sprinted towards the sea, Riku still much faster than Sora but only until Sora tackled his friend and they both landed in the water.   
  
"What was that for?" Riku gasped as he tried to get Sora off himself or else they'd drown but Sora just grinned and wrapped his arms around Riku.   
  
"I felt like it." He shrugged and leaned down, intending to kiss Riku but before their lips met a huge wave came and washed them away. Sora grimaced as he gulped down some salt water and Riku smirked. As they crawled out of the water they realized that the wave had washed them to a little cave near the pier. Water drops that dripped down from above fell on Riku's hair making them shimmer and reflect the first rays of the sunlight coming up.   
  
"I never knew there was a cave like this here." Sora murmured, looking around with big eyes. Riku nodded and plopped down on the damp ground, crossing his arms. The younger boy carefully sneaked around, exploring the little cave they'd landed in. He had a strange feeling inside his heart though he had no idea why. He was alone with Riku in a beautiful little cave that nobody knew, the upcoming sun was lightening it step by step... He briefly turned his head to see Riku watching him with a smile. But instead of asking why he was watching Sora grinned and turned back to explore the cave further.   
  
The silver-haired sighed quietly and rubbed his temple. Now could be a good time to tell him. Or not? At least they were alone and nobody could disturb them so it could work.   
  
"Hey look what I've found!" Sora's child-like voice called in excitement.   
  
Riku lazily turned around to find Sora holding something that looked like a flower but it was hard as a rock.  
  
"What do you think this is?" he asked, shoving it into his face.  
  
Riku frowned slightly and thought for a while. He had seen this before...  
  
Sora peered at his friend's face and waited for an answer, Riku was looking like he was thinking so there was definitely something coming out.   
  
But Riku didn't say anything. He just kept frowning as if thinking and Sora pouted slightly, thinking himself. Somehow Sora thought it was familiar, this flower made of stone. He just couldn't remember why he knew it and what it was.  
  
The sun was now fully visible and lightened the cave in a beautiful orange-yellow light, the damp ground reflecting every bit of light making the whole cave twinkle like it was made of diamonds. In the middle sat Sora and Riku. Riku was holding Sora's hand in his while Sora held the flower.   
  
~~~  
  
"Look, look! I found this stone next to the door in the cave!" a five year old Sora was holding a twinkling stone in his hand, showing it to his best friend.  
  
"Wow it looks like a diamond! Can I have it?" Riku asked, his eyes wide in excitement.  
  
Little Sora thought for a while and nodded. "Okay. Here. But only because you are my bestest friend!" Sora grinned.   
  
Riku smiled and nodded.   
  
----  
  
"Sora, remember the stone you gave me?" Three years later Riku and Sora were sitting on the Paopu tree.   
  
"You mean the one from the cave?"   
  
"Yeah. I.." Riku hesitated. But then he dug in his pocket and took out a flower-shaped thing, twinkling in the sunlight.   
  
"I made this for you..." Nine-year-old Riku took Sora's hand and placed the flower shaped stone in his hands.   
  
Sora stared in awe.   
  
"That's...cool..." He stuttered in amazement.  
  
"Don't tell Kairi. I know she is new here and we have to take care of her. But don't show her this. This is just for you and me, okay?"   
  
Sora nodded.  
  
~~~  
  
Riku now remembered what this thing was. He had kept it as a treasure as they were little kids. When Kairi came and Riku started to feel forgotten he made a special present for his friend to remind him that they were still friends. He remembered, he had spent months on making that stone look like a flower and he often got frustrated because it didn't look like he wanted it. But the thought of giving it to Sora made him continue until it was done.   
  
Sora also started to remember. He knew that he had seen the flower before and now he remembered who gave this to him when he was little. Riku had given it to him and because he didn't want Kairi to see it he hid it in a cave. After time he must have forgotten it since he didn't even remember the cave.   
  
Both boys smiled slightly and turned to face each other.   
  
Riku's eyes locked with Sora's, memories of an old friendship flowed through the cave. It was just like then, just like the time they had been kids. Only the two of them and nobody else.  
  
"S-Sora.." Riku began. The younger boy smiled and looked at the flower in his hand.   
  
"Sora...I'm...I think..." Riku stammered out but he forced himself to do it now. Now or never.  
  
"I think I'm in love with you."   
  
Blue eyes immediately flickered up and stared at Riku. The stare was so intense that Riku felt his lungs tighten so that he couldn't breathe anymore. Had it been wrong to tell him?  
  
Sora tensed, Riku could see it, and opened his mouth slightly.   
  
"...w-wha..what?"   
  
Riku sighed and lowered his gaze to face the ground. He felt that lump in his throat that prevented him from breathing and talking, his heart was racing and he bit his lip so hard it almost hurt.   
  
Should he repeat what he'd just said or did Sora just ask because he wished he had misunderstood him? Before his thoughts deepened, his mouth opened again.  
  
"I'm in love with you, Sora."   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Cliffhanger! *grin* Well at least Riku confessed, eh? And what about Sora??? ...we'll see in the next chapter! Err and sorry this chapter took so long, I just couldn't get anything done... But since it's here now and you hopefully read it....review pleaaaaaase ^_^ 


	8. Evil Plans

Author's Ranting: heh I know I was evil for doing that cliffhanger thing.... but see? I have another chapter up already!!  
  
hehe hope you like it and thaaaanks for the lovely reviews!! You can't imagine how much I love you all for reviewing!  
  
Okay and now on with the story!!  
  
~~~  
  
"I'm in love with you, Sora."   
  
Sora was frozen in place, simply staring at Riku. He knew that the lips had moved but he wasn't sure if he had heard what the other boy had said. Of course, in his heart he had heard it and knew exactly what it meant but his mind was still trying to analyse what was happening.  
  
Wasn't it too early for something like this? They had just been friends...friends who kissed each other...who occasionally made out...who spent every moment, be it awake or asleep, with each other. 'Hmmm...' Sora was confused. How should he react? What was Riku expecting? Probably he expected him to say it back.  
  
But was he in love with Riku? How should he know, he had never been in love with anybody. How do you know you are in love?   
  
Sora frowned.  
  
As Riku saw his friend frown his heart sank into the deepest hole of darkness. He felt like crying though he wasn't sure why.  
  
Sora knitted his brows together and thought hard. He eyed the flower in his hand, the time Riku had given it to him. He had felt so happy when he got this gift...because it was from Riku. The most important person in his life had given him something to show him that they were friends forever...if not more.  
  
And he liked kissing Riku and he liked simply being with him. No matter what time or place, as long as there was Riku he would be content. So...was this love?   
  
"Riku..." Sora murmured, not looking at him.   
  
Riku didn't look up and sighed. "Yeah?"   
  
Sora pondered for a while. What now? This was a stupid problem, he wasn't sure whether he was in love because he didn't know what it was like to be in love. So how should he tell Riku? How should he tell him something he didn't know?  
  
"What is it like to be in love?" Sora bluntly asked.   
  
Riku's head snapped up and his eyes stared at Sora, a little hope crossing them. Sora didn't know what it was like? Maybe he felt it but didn't know about it? 'There is still a chance...' Riku thought.  
  
A small smile appeared on his lips and he reached out a hand to pat Sora's head.  
  
"I'm not sure but I think it's like...." he moved closer to Sora, closer to his ear and kissed it softly before whispering. "Like feeling good whenever you are with that person....like forgetting everything else that's not about that one person."  
  
He pulled away and sat next to Sora.   
  
"You want to spend every moment with that person and in your eyes that person can't do anything wrong.... That's what I...what I feel." Riku paused to let Sora think about it. He hoped that Sora would understand and feel the same.  
  
The younger boy frowned again, slightly pouting while he pondered over Riku's words. It was true, he felt good whenever he was with Riku.. and he forgot about everything else whenever he was with Riku... he could even forget about Kairi. And they had spent every moment with each other and Sora didn't want it to ever and.  
  
Then he thought about the last thing Riku said. In his eyes Riku was simply perfect, he had always been. Riku had never done anything wrong or stupid. He was always superior... and lately he noticed how charming and beautiful he was. So was he in love?   
  
"Arrrrghhh......" Sora put the flower down, ruffled his hair and sighed heavily, making Riku chuckle. Even though he was still nervous about Sora's answer he had to chuckle because Sora was too cute when he was thinking. SO totally adorable, he had to sigh dreamily.  
  
~~~  
  
"Selph! Selphie!" Kairi yelled, pounding on her door.   
  
Some moments later the door opened and hyperactive Selphie jumped out.  
  
"What what what?" She bounced around, smiling brightly.   
  
Kairi scowled slightly and put her hands to her hips. "Why did you run away and leave me alone with Riku?" Then she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. I talked to him and I decided not to kill him."  
  
Selphie raised her eyebrows. "Really? Cool! So you're friends again? Everything's okay okay okay??" Had she drunk coffee? Selphie was way to hyper for six in the morning.  
  
Kairi shook her head vigorously. "NO WAY! I can never be his friend again!! I hate them, both! But I don't want to kill them...I'll try to get them separated...I already have a plan..."  
  
Selphie frowned. Sora and Riku were so perfect for each other...'Kairi mustn't do that...' she thought and pouted slightly.  
  
"Kairi..."   
  
But the other girl shook her head. "I'm not asking you for permission or anything. If you want to help your friend, do it! If not, leave me alone. But I will *not* give up on Sora. Never."  
  
'Man she's weird....first making fun of him and now this?' Selphie thought, scratching her head. What now? Should she help? If she helped her she would betray her friends Sora and Riku but if she didn't, she'd betray Kairi.   
  
"It's not that I still love Sora, no I don't. Not after this. But I won't let Riku win this. Never."   
  
Oh, so it made sense. She was just angry, still angry.  
  
"Fine.." Selphie muttered, suddenly not so hyper anymore. She didn't want to betray Sora and Riku but maybe it was better to find out what Kairi was doing so she could make her stop.  
  
Kairi nodded and dragged her friend to her house.  
  
~~~  
  
More than an hour had passed since they had entered the cave.  
  
Sora was still thinking.   
  
"Sora..." Riku began, he was getting impatient. Sitting there in total silence was not very relaxing.  
  
"I'm thinking.." Sora whined, pouting like a little boy.  
  
Riku sighed and grabbed Sora by the shoulders, kissing him. Sora gasped but responded the kiss immediately, sighing as Riku pulled away.  
  
"Stop thinking about it, please. Just forget it, okay? I'm in love with you no matter what. And now let's go cause I think I'm getting hungry."  
  
Sora pouted and watched his friend already heading towards the water to swim back to the pier.  
  
"Riku!" he called and the silver-haired spun around.  
  
"What?" he asked, somewhat annoyed. He wasn't able to hide his bad mood. Of course he couldn't blame Sora but somehow he had hoped that this turned out different.  
  
Sora took the flower and placed it neatly on the floor, in the middle of the cave. He chewed on his lip and looked alternately to the floor, then at Riku, back to the floor and so on about ten times. Riku rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.   
  
"Um..." Sora started, frowning a little. Then he took a deep breath and looked up at Riku who was standing at the entrance of the cave.  
  
"I think...no I know...I love you."   
  
Now it was Riku's turn to be frozen in place.   
  
"...you...do..?" his eyes went wide and he choked out the words.  
  
Sora flashed one of his adorable grins and Riku covered his mouth with his hands to hide the blinding smile he was wearing now. He knew that his beaming face would make Sora blind.  
  
"Yup." He jumped out and bounced over to Riku, grinning happily.   
  
"...cool..." Riku murmured, fighting back the urge to do a little happy dance. He knew it would look ridiculous.   
  
A sudden growl interrupted the happy idyll and Riku rubbed his stomach.   
  
"Hungry." he grinned and Sora nodded. They both jumped into the water and swam back to the beach.  
  
~~~  
  
"And then you go them and tell Sora I want to meet him. If he doesn't want to go, force him."  
  
Kairi instructed Selphie while the younger girl frowned with every word Kairi said. This was evil. This was pure eeeeevil! Why did she have to be so mean to them? Sure, she had the right to be angry but this??  
  
"Kairi are you sure we should do this? I mean, they're so cute together...and they are happy, why don't we just leave them alone? You could go out with--" but she was cut off by Kairi glaring daggers at her.  
  
"Selphie. If you don't want to help me I will do it on my own. We will first separate Riku and Sora from each other, it's easier this way. You tell Sora I want him to wait by the waterfall cause I want to talk. While I distract Sora you make Riku feel as guilty as possible, okay? Make him think I want to commit suicide or something, just make it a huge drama so he feels guilty enough to stop this. And I will tell Sora that Riku is just using him. I have some advantaged because Riku and I talked last night and Sora doesn't know about what. We will make them suffer, I swear it."  
  
Selphie blinked at the determined fire in Kairi's eyes. It was scary. Far too scary.  
  
"Any questions?" Kairi asked, daring her to chicken out.   
  
"N-no?" Selphie answered, shrugging nervously.   
  
Kairi grunted and nodded. "Good. And now go!" she yelled, Selphie already running away. Kairi was so scary when pissed off.   
  
~~~  
  
Riku and Sora were eating as Selphie came running towards them.  
  
"Hey there!" she called in her usual cheerful voice.   
  
Riku looked up and nodded at her, Sora was busy eating. Though Riku had been the one who was hungry Sora was eating he hadn't eaten in months...  
  
"How are you two lovebirds?" She asked, grinning at the pair as she plopped down next to them. Sora pouted at the term 'lovebirds' but didn't say anything against it, which surprised Selphie.  
  
Riku smiled and pulled Sora close. "We are doing fine."   
  
Selphie couldn't help but to 'awww' them though she knew that she had a 'mission' to fulfil. Now she wasn't afraid of Riku anymore but more afraid of Kairi if she betrayed her. Kairi was definitely far more dangerous than Riku.  
  
"So, what do you want?" Riku asked after awhile.  
  
Selphie winced and frowned. "Um....I came here to talk. To you." She looked at Riku and gestured Sora to leave.  
  
The younger boy raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you want me to leave?" He asked, wondering what she was up to.  
  
Selphie shrugged and pointed into the direction of the waterfall. "Kairi...wants to see you."  
  
Both boys raised their eyebrows in surprise and Selphie shrugged, seemingly uneasy with the situation.  
  
Sora looked at Riku and after receiving a nod he strolled away to meet his ex-girlfriend. Hopefully she wasn't going to bite his head off....  
  
Selphie waited until Sora was out of sight and turned to Riku with a serious expression. Now it was Showtime.  
  
"Riku...we have to talk. Kairi's really...I mean really...upset."   
  
She sighed. This was going to be hard, Selphie knew it. She was never good with lying, especially not when it involved her friends. But of course she had always had the ability to act like drama-queen so it couldn't be too difficult to make Riku feel guilty. The only problem was that she would be feeling guilty too....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Liked it? Isn't Kairi just E V I L ? But you know, this idea is based on a true story! Yep, I had this absolutely mean friend who did exaclty the same thing as Kairi.   
  
I ended up playing the Selphie-role and it was hard... Okay enough of my lifestory I'm sure nobody wants to hear about that ^^  
  
Just review again? Please? Pretty please? *batts eyelashes* ....Good! hehe... ^_^ 


	9. Dilemma

Author's Ranting: Kairi turns gentle and nice?!?!?!? ...No, she's just a good actress! Yep, you'll see what she does to Sora....  
  
And Selphie's torn between her fear of Kairi and her guilty conscience because of Riku....will she tell him the truth? Will she? Will she?? Will she????   
  
Well, let's see what my caffeine-damaged mind came up with, shall we? ^-^  
  
~~~  
  
"Sora." Kairi's soft voice startled the young boy as he waited for her at the waterfall. He turned around, ready to see an angry Kairi, but was surprised by a very concerned looking Kairi.  
  
"Sora, I'm so glad you came." She smiled and took his hand, leading him off to sit down. Sora frowned and wondered what Kairi was planning to do. As they sat in silence Kairi entwined their hands, linking fingers. Sora raised his eyebrows and looked at Kairi questioningly, she just smiled and sighed a little sadly.  
  
"What do you want from me?" Sora suspiciously asked.   
  
Kairi sighed again and shrugged. "I think I should tell you something...because we're friends, right? I think you need to know..."  
  
Sora frowned. Need to know what? And since when were they friends again? Didn't she say something about hatred before?   
  
Suddenly he remembered that Riku had been talking to her and he said that she wasn't angry anymore. So maybe Kairi understood them? Understood how he felt about Riku? That would be too good to be true but maybe Kairi was understanding.  
  
"Well, I talked to Riku..." she quietly said, not looking at Sora. Sora nodded and waited for her to continue. What was she going to say?  
  
"Sora...I respect that you think you love him. But he...he..." she turned to him with an overdramatic concerned face and took both of his hands in hers.  
  
"He is just using you, Sora! He told me when we talked things out! You don't mean anything to him!"  
  
Sora frowned in confusion and looked down. No way. How could Kairi say something like this? After all that happened...after what Riku said to him. She must have been lying.  
  
"Sora...you probably won't believe me...but it's true. Please..." she squeezed his hands, causing him to look up to her. Their eyes met and he could see some tears in Kairi's eyes. Her face was so full of concern and sympathy that he almost started considering that it could be possible what she said.   
  
"I know we've all been friends, and I really liked Riku. But what he's doing to you... I can't stand here and say nothing. We talked, and he told me a lot of things. About how easy it was to play with you! I couldn't listen to him anymore so I said it's okay. I said I can understand you and I will leave you alone. But I only did this because I couldn't bare to hear what he says about you!"  
  
She was a pretty good actress...  
  
Sora shook his head. No way Riku was like this. She must have been lying, there was no other way. He couldn't believe that Riku would do something like this to him.   
  
Kairi let go off him and turned away to watch the water splashing down from the waterfall. Sora glanced at her, seeing her like this reminded him of the time they were together. Kairi always cared for him, she was always concerned about him and she always wanted to help him. She wouldn't lie to him, would she? She had no reason to lie...  
  
But Riku. Riku loved him, there was no way he was lying. He could feel it.   
  
Kairi remained silent though in her head she was already planning the next few steps of her plan. If this was going to work as she calculated, Sora would think about what she said and fall into doubts about Riku. She knew her friend all too well.   
  
~~  
  
"You're saying Kairi is depressed because of us?" Riku asked.   
  
Selphie sighed and nodded. She hated lying like this...  
  
"She even wanted to kill herself?" Riku asked, frowning deeply.  
  
Selphie nodded. "She is...very...upset...because...of you two..." the fact that it was so hard for her to lie to Riku was useful because it made her sound as though she was so worried about Kairi that she had a hard time talking.  
  
The silver-haired bit his lip. He had thought Kairi was finally understanding them...was it just fake? It would suit her. Outwardly smiling and pretending that everything's okay but inside carrying a burden that made her heart ache. She was always such a nice girl, so concerned about the others even more than about herself. Riku felt bad for making such a girl feel the way she did now.  
  
So the plan was working.  
  
"Selphie, you're her best friend...can you tell me how serious this is? Is she really, I mean really in danger because of this? Or do you think she will get over it?" Riku's eyes held so much guilt that it hurt Selphie to look at them.  
  
She looked away and shrugged. She didn't know what to say. This was just too much, she couldn't tell lies like that just to make Riku feel bad.   
  
"I love Sora...but if Kairi really..." Riku paused and dropped his head into his hands. This was so complicated. No matter how much he loved Sora, he still cared for Kairi, too. If it was just a simple mood of her he wouldn't have cared so much but if she was really depressed and seriously hurting inside, it was his duty to care.  
  
Selphie almost started to wail at the look of Riku's face and chewed on her fingernails, pondering if she should stop this show and tell Riku the truth.  
  
~~  
  
"I can't believe this..." Sora muttered, still not looking at Kairi.   
  
Kairi sighed and moved closer to Sora, leaning against him. "I won't force you to believe me, Sora. All I want to do is help...Riku doesn't even like you, did you know that? Last night he confessed so many things to me, I won't even say all of them because they would hurt too much. He thought I hated you and said that he could now tell me what he was really thinking."  
  
Sora's heart crackled. This couldn't be true.  
  
"Sora, it hurt so much to listen to it! You have to stop being his toy and forget him! He doesn't deserve you!"   
  
Kairi was right. If Riku was really just using him...  
  
But how could he be sure that this was true?   
  
He had to think back of all the time he had spent with Riku. There was no single moment he doubted their friendship and love for each other. Riku could never be like Kairi said.   
  
But then he also thought back of the time he had spent with Kairi. Kairi had never lied to him and she had often told him things in order to protect him. This situation was just like then. Kairi was warning him because she cared for him...   
  
"Kairi..." he murmured, clenching his fists.  
  
Kairi laid a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "I'm not trying to convince you. You have to figure it out for yourself whether you want to be Riku's toy or believe me and forget him."  
  
She was so gentle, just like the Kairi he had known for so long. She couldn't be lying.   
  
"O-okay.." Sora said, getting up and glancing down at her. She smiled sympathetically and he bent down to hug her.  
  
"Thanks." He whispered before scooting off to the Paopu tree to think.   
  
Kairi watched him disappear and chuckled. This was better than she thought, Sora had actually hugged her so he was trusting her.  
  
"You'll pay..." she sneered, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
~~  
  
Riku was in despair. He could never give up Sora, never ever. But Kairi was important to him as well, no matter how much she hated them together. She was a nice girl and didn't deserve something like this.  
  
Selphie watched Riku's features darken and the wrinkles on his forehead increased the deeper his frown got. She couldn't do this to him, this was just unfair.  
  
"Riku--" But she was cut off by him shaking his head and getting up.  
  
"Thanks for telling me, Selphie. I don't know if I can do anything about it but I hope you can help Kairi a little bit until I figured out what to do."  
  
The young girl wrinkled her nose and opened her mouth to say something but Riku turned around and walked away.  
  
"Hey! Wait! Riku!" She called but he didn't listen. He had to figure out what to do with Kairi or else his guilty conscience would have killed him. He couldn't treat one of his closest friends like this, not even if he was in love. That didn't excuse everything.  
  
'Should I go and talk to Sora..?' he asked himself as he wandered along the shore. No, better not meet Sora now. It would distract him too much.   
  
He had to smile as the thought of Sora entered his mind. Every time they were together they forgot about everything around them. It was like being in another world where only the two of them existed.   
  
'Argh no...' he shook his head and smacked his forehead. He had to stop thinking of Sora all the time. There was a serious problem if Kairi was taking it that hard.   
  
He watched the sun burning down on the sea, the waves dancing in the wind. It relaxed him a bit, making his head clearer than before. Watching the sea always made him relax. But not as much as watching Sora. The chestnut coloured hair that looked like they held all different shades of brown in them, those sky-blue eyes that made him feel like he could fly, the delicate child-like body that was still almost as strong as his no matter how fragile it looked. And then the indefinable expression on that face. There was no word to describe the cuteness of Sora's face.   
  
Riku sighed heavily. Acting like a lovesick fool was not the way to figure things out.  
  
Selphie slowly strolled up behind Riku and cleared her throat to get his attention. The silver-haired boy spun around and raised his eyebrow.  
  
"What? Is there anything else?"  
  
Selphie opened her mouth but no sound came out. As she looked past Riku she could see Kairi standing in the distance, hands on hips. Even though she couldn't quite see her eyes she was sure that she was currently glaring daggers at her.   
  
Afraid of deceiving Kairi, she shook her head and waved at Riku before running off.   
  
Riku shook his head and shrugged. Strange girl...  
  
Should he stop seeing Sora to make Kairi feel better? He knew he wouldn't be able to bare it. Then what else was there to do?  
  
~~  
  
Sora was lying on the Paopu tree. Somehow he had hoped that Riku would come but somehow he also hoped that he wouldn't see him for a while. It would be too difficult to face him after what Kairi told him. Though he still couldn't believe that this was true, part of him started to doubt Riku's feelings towards him.  
  
There was no reason, he knew it, but something inside him told him that it wasn't impossible.   
  
Kairi had never lied to him and it *could* fit Riku's attitude to just play with someone. He wasn't as naive as Sora and who knew what his mind was thinking....   
  
Sora sighed and covered his eyes with his arm. He didn't want to see the sun or the sky right now.   
  
As he closed his eyes he could see Riku and Kairi standing next to each other, as if he had to choose whom he would believe.  
  
Of course he would believe Riku, he loved Riku. But he also believed Kairi somehow...  
  
What should he do?  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: bah...I don't know if that was good....please tell me! ^-^ Kairi's a good actress, eh? From evil maniac changing into gentle and loving friend...  
  
And Selphie's a coward...but well, who would dare to deceive Kairi the Great? lol... anywayz, be ready for the next chapter, it should be coming soon!   
  
Oh and thanks for the reviews! I'll soon have reached 150!!! I never had so many reviews! That's sooooo cool ^_^ Thanks guys! 


	10. Running Away

Author's Ranting: OMG I'm so sorry that this took so long! I had the main idea in my head for sooo long but I couldn't get to write it properly due lack of time.   
  
I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long! So... this chapter is mainly about ....... errr read it ^_^  
  
There's no solution yet and there's no fluff in this chappy -_- ...stupid plot, takes all the place for fluff ^.~  
  
Anywayz I promise that there *will* be fluff in future chapters again and the plot will probably move along, too! So now read and enjoy ^^  
  
~~~  
  
Kairi and Selphie were both in Kairi's room now. Kairi was planning the next step for her grand evil plan while Selphie made up her mind to not play along anymore.  
  
"Selphie!" An angry voice caught Selphie as she was trying to sneak away.  
  
"Y-yes, Kairi?" She nervously smiled, trying to hide the fact that she was trying to sneak away while Kairi was talking.   
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Kairi demanded, raising an eyebrow at her friend. Selphie shrugged and looked around.   
  
"Um...I wanted to...wanted to..." she looked around and spotted an empty plate. "To get some food! I'll be right back!" She called and ran as fast as she could. Man, Kairi was so scary sometimes.  
  
Selphie had to tell Riku what was going on, she just had to. She hoped that he was still at the beach where she had last seen him. It was getting darker as the sky started to sway in orange colours. Better reach Riku before evening.  
  
"Riku? Rikuuuu! RikuRikuRikuRikuu!!" She yelled, running like a crazed bunny.   
  
The silver-haired boy's eyes snapped open, he had been dreaming of Sora instead of thinking about a solution, and he frowned at the sight of a yellow -thing- bouncing around.  
  
"Wha.." he wanted to ask but Selphie stopped him for she was going to burst if she couldn't tell him now.  
  
"Riku shut up!" She yelled and leapt towards him to pin him down.  
  
"No running away and no not listening! I just haaaave to tell ya what Kairi is doing!"  
  
Riku frowned. She had already told him what Kairi was doing, has she done something worse now?  
  
"Kairi is E-V-I-L!!" Selphie almost cried, shaking Riku violently. ...she was really way too hyper...  
  
But what Selphie was saying made Riku curious. "Why evil?" he asked, batting Selphie's hands from his collar. Selphie made a weird noise that sounded like 'gaaww' and shifted to sit on Riku's chest.  
  
"I told you that she's depressed and all, right?"  
  
Riku nodded.  
  
"And it made you feel guilty, right?"  
  
Riku nodded again. What was her point?  
  
"Yeah well that was exactly what she wanted!! She wants you two to get separated cause she hates you and I had to talk to you and make you think all this and I'M SORRY!"  
  
Riku blinked. Selphie was talking and talking and he wasn't even sure if he caught anything right.   
  
"And she wants to convince Sora that you're lying to him and all! And Sora's probably totally confused because of what she said and you just *have* to go to him and explain! You can't let Kairi do this to you!"  
  
What? Kairi was planning all this to get them separated? *The* Kairi? The nice girl he always cared for and felt bad for hurting her like that?   
  
"Selphie..is that really true?" He asked as he frowned.  
  
Selphie shrieked and pinched Riku's arm. "OF COURSE! Why should I lie to you?! I mean, ok, I have lied to you but, see? I'm saying the truth now! You can't let Kairi do this to youuu!!" she scolded, lightly punching Riku.  
  
He sighed and reached out to hold her still.  
  
"Okay. I believe you. And if it's true what you're saying I should go and find Sora, right?"   
  
The girl nodded.   
  
Silence.  
  
"Um Selphie..."   
  
"What?"  
  
"....could you please get off me?!"   
  
The girl giggled and bounced off Riku before tugging on his shirt. Her face formed a pout, similar to Sora's.   
  
"Don't let Kairi destroy what you have. You and Sora are just too adorable together. You *need* to be together."  
  
She then smiled and let go of Riku.   
  
The older boy nodded started to walk away, looking for Sora. But after a few steps he stopped and turned around.  
  
"Hey." He said. Selphie looked up to him.   
  
"What about you and Tidus?" Riku suddenly smirked and raised his eyebrow suggestively at Selphie.  
  
The young girl blushed a little and shrugged. "What about us?" she shyly asked, totally different from her usual self.  
  
Riku shook his head and kept smirking. "He doesn't get it, does he? Why don't you just tell him that you think he's cute? Sometimes boys like him need a little more than just a hint." he winked at her and walked away, leaving Selphie totally dumbfounded.   
  
~~  
  
'Riku would never lie to me, Riku would never use me, Riku would never to this to me....Kairi has no reason to lie to me, Kairi smiled and cared for me, Kairi is concerned about me...Riku is..' Sora was trying to find out whom he should believe.   
  
"Sora." A familiar voice startled him and he opened his eyes to see an ocean of green and blue hovering over him.   
  
'Oh no..not now..' he thought to himself, wanting to close his eyes again. He had to think. He couldn't face Riku right now.  
  
"I don't know what Kairi told you but it's not true." Riku murmured, sitting down beside his friend.  
  
Sora didn't move though he listened up. Of course it wasn't true, Sora knew that Riku wouldn't just use him.  
  
"Selphie came to me and told me about what Kairi wants to do. You know she's still mad at us...and I guess she's pretty mad. 'Cause she wanted me to feel guilty and leave you and she told you that I didn't love you or something.."   
  
He paused, gliding a hand up Sora's leg, making the younger boy shiver slightly.  
  
"But that's total nonsense...no matter what she told you...I do love you, I always did." his voice faded and he glanced over at his friend. Sora didn't look at him but he wasn't looking somewhere else. He was just...not looking at him. And why? He just couldn't. Maybe it was something Kairi said, or maybe it was the fact that he had to *think* about whether Riku was lying to him or not. He was ashamed that he didn't trust Riku.  
  
"I...know..." Sora murmured before quickly getting up and running away. Riku hadn't any chance to follow him for he was gone in seconds, leaving Riku staring in surprise. Why would Sora run away like that?  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile.   
  
"Hey what's wrong with you? You look like something's bothering you."   
  
Tidus peered at Selphie's unusually upset face. She felt a little awkward now that she had deceived both of her friends. First Riku and Sora by lying to them and now Kairi by telling Riku the truth. But Riku deserved to know the truth and Kairi was plain evil.  
  
"Um...you know whenever I feel bad I just spin myself around once and try to laugh as loud as I can." Tidus offered, looking at Selphie with expectation.  
  
The brunette girl looked up and Tidus smiled, turning towards the water. He took a deep breath, spread his arms out and spun around once before shouting and then starting to laugh. Selphie raised her eyebrows and a big grin was painted on her face. Tidus kept laughing and reached out his hand for Selphie to join him. She started laughing too and they spun around, holding hands. It did make her feel better.  
  
After that Selphie sat down again, Tidus standing next to her.   
  
"Um...so...did it help?"   
  
Selphie smiled. "Yup." She then sighed and stared at the sand again. Tidus frowned and sat down beside her.  
  
"So what's bothering you? There must be something."   
  
The young girl's ears perked up and she wrinkled her nose in half confusion and half hope. "You mean you care?" she asked, smiling a little.  
  
"Sure I do! I mean...yeah..I guess.." Tidus was blushing a little, Selphie good see it. 'Tee-hee that's so sweet....' she giggled a little and then nodded at Tidus.  
  
"Yeah well, I do have a problem..it's about Sora and Riku and Kairi..."   
  
Tidus pursed his lips together and crossed his arms. "Tell me. Maybe I can help."   
  
Selphie hesitated and Tidus noticed, smiling at her. "And if I can't help we just spin around and laugh until you feel better, okay?"   
  
Selphie chuckled and nodded. Tidus was *so* cute.   
  
~~  
  
'I'm such a fool. I'm such a fool. I'm such a fool.' Sora chewed on his lower lip while he sat in his room, thinking of what to think. He really didn't know anymore. Riku had said he loved him, Kairi said he lied. But he knew that Riku would never lie to him, not after what they shared and he would never lie especially not about this. But something Kairi said had made him doubt Riku and that was what bothered him right now. He was afraid that Riku was loving him more than he was loving Riku.   
  
And he wasn't even sure if he was in love with Riku though he had already said it. It just seemed right at that moment.... But now it was a little scary.   
  
Sora wasn't very experienced regarding love and he didn't want to hurt Riku's feelings if he did something wrong. Or maybe he already did? He didn't know.  
  
Sora sighed and pounded his fist on the table. It was Kairi's fault. If she hadn't said anything then he wouldn't have started to think about everything.  
  
Or maybe she was his saviour? Reminding him to think before starting something stupid?  
  
He didn't know. He needed to think....  
  
"Sora! Sora please open up!" Riku was standing outside, begging for him to open the door.  
  
Sora plugged his ears and closed his eyes. He couldn't see Riku right now.  
  
"Sora! Please! What are you doing?!" Riku pleaded, pounding on the door. He wasn't going to give up easily.   
  
After some time the younger boy gave in and opened the door, staring at the silver haired boy.  
  
Neither of them said anything as Riku entered and sat down on the bed. He seemed to like the bed, Sora noted. Well, they both liked the bed especially when they were... He dismissed the thoughts and concentrated on the fact that he wanted to think about something. About what? He forgot...  
  
"Sora, do you trust me?" Riku quietly asked, looking directly into Sora's blue eyes.  
  
The younger boy nodded.   
  
"Good. Then why are you running away? Why do you act like you believe what Kairi said?" He asked, sounding a little hurt.   
  
Sora felt his stomach twist, Riku was hurt, he had hurt him already. 'I didn't run away because of what Kairi said...but because of what I did when she said it...I almost started to doubt you...' But all of this was never voiced because his mouth was quickly covered by his friend's as he was pulled into an embrace.  
  
Sora sighed into the kiss and let himself fall completely. It felt like the very first time they had kissed. Riku was gently nibbling on Sora's lip while his hand traced down from the cheek to the chin, stroking it lovingly. Their lips parted and they started to explore the foreign mouths just as though it was the first time. It was like magic and Sora's mind was empty, only feeling the sensation in his mouth.   
  
"Sora.." Riku breathed between their kiss.   
  
They pulled away, Sora gasping for air. What had he been thinking about?   
  
All that mattered was Riku. His Riku.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: reviewwwwwwwwwz please ^^ and yeah it's pretty late right now but I just had to write this chapter cause I couldn't stand to have this idea in my head but being unable to write it down.  
  
I promise to update more often as soon as I have time again! I do have a lot of ideas and inspiration and everything...my problem's just the lack of time due all my exams and stuff.  
  
Anywayz I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one will hopefully come soon! 


	11. Sweetness

Author's Ranting: Oh my Goddess! Soooooooo many reviews! I'm getting high on reviews, really ^^ And since I'm starting to have enough time to sleep again, I can also write again! If my muses don't abandon me I should get things done a lot faster than the last few days! Isn't that greaat? ^_^  
  
Yeah so anywayz, since the last chapter was not really fluffy I tried to make up... hope this one is good ^^  
  
~~~  
  
"Riku..." Sora and Riku were lying in the bed, both staring at the ceiling. They hadn't moved since a while ago and Sora decided to break the silence.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
Sora sighed. He felt a little silly for asking now but he couldn't stand the silence between them.  
  
"Do you know what I was thinking about?"   
  
Riku rolled to his side to look at the younger boy. "No, what?" His hand started to play with Sora's spiky hair, curling them, twisting them, while he smiled slightly.  
  
Sora chuckled and turned to look at Riku, grinning silly. "I forgot, that's why I'm asking."   
  
Riku raised his eyebrows and held back the urge to laugh but it was impossible and so he burst out into laughter, Sora feeling the bed shake along with his friend. No matter how silly it sounded, he really didn't know anymore what he was thinking about. It was like...like Riku erased it from his mind, making all he was seeing was Riku. He closed his eyes and was surprised by two arms grabbing him, pulling him close to a comforting warmth.  
  
"I don't want to lose you. Ever." Riku whispered, trying to pull Sora even closer, almost as if he wanted them to fuse.   
  
Sora melted completely into Riku's arms, all of his body going limp and relaxed. He loved being like that, simply held by Riku who would never let go off him.   
  
Riku smiled as he heard Sora purring in return. Sora reminded him of a small kitten that had just been fed. Purring in content. He kissed Sora on the cheek and lingered there, nuzzling him before inhaling Sora's sweet scent. He was still so innocent and pure, just like always. His skin was so soft and smooth and his blue eyes were crystal clear, holding a radiating light in them. He could never lose against darkness with those eyes. But what really made him happy right now was that they still shared their old friendship. At first he had been afraid that they might get into something that would destroy their friendship, but somehow it seemed to be the basis to their relationship. And this was good.   
  
"You're still my best friend, Sora." Riku quietly said, squeezing the younger boy slightly.   
  
"Mnnhhg..." Sora answered while he buried his face in Riku's chest.   
  
Riku chuckled, Sora could feel his chest rumble, and closed his eyes. Sora was making him go crazy. He was too cute for this world, so indescribable sweet.   
  
"God, you're so cute..." Riku sighed and kissed Sora's hair.  
  
The younger boy pulled away and crossed his arms.  
  
"I'm not cute." He pouted, thrusting his lower lip forward while knitting his brows together. Every time he tried to look angry it only made him cuter. Riku smirked.  
  
"Yes you are. Especially now."  
  
Sora pouted even more, somehow looking like he was close to bawling like a baby but eventually sighed and let his arms fall to his side again.   
  
"You're giving up that easily?" Riku teased, raising an eyebrow at his friend.  
  
Sora glared at Riku though he was blushing a little and rubbed his cheeks to make his blush go away.   
  
Riku chuckled again. "You know it's not going to go away if you rub your cheeks like this." he smirked.   
  
Sora stuck out his tongue while pressed his cheeks together, making Riku stare in confusion before laughing uncontrollably. Sora stopped making grimaces as he noticed that Riku was lying on his back, holding his stomach while laughing. He suddenly smirked and secretly took a pillow before aiming at Riku.  
  
Whoosh. The pillow flew directly into Riku's face.  
  
"Wha-!" The silver-haired yelled, quickly throwing the pillow back to the attacker.   
  
"Oh no, not this again." Riku rolled his eyes though he was grinning from ear to ear. Sora put his hands into his lap and big, innocent eyes looked at Riku.  
  
"What do you mean? I didn't do anything...." He murmured, sounding so much like a little child.   
  
Riku smirked and shrugged. "Yeah sure." He then narrowed his eyes and watched Sora who was watching him.   
  
Suddenly Riku leapt towards Sora and started to tickle him, making Sora squeal like a girl... Sora was *the* most ticklish person on the whole island.   
  
"Rikuuu!" He whined while he was shaking violently with laughter. "Stop!" He squealed, trying to get away from his friend. He panted for air and crawled under the table, blocking the way with the chair.  
  
"Stop that or I'll never come out again."   
  
Riku laughed and pushed the chair away.   
  
"Hey, you were the one who started." he smirked and crawled to Sora. They both sat under the table, staring at each other.  
  
There was a brief silence before Sora chuckled.  
  
"Remember the time we were hiding from Kairi? We were hiding under the table and although she came in she couldn't find us."  
  
Riku smirked and nodded. "Yeah she was mad at us for almost three days. That was shortly after I gave you that flower..."   
  
He paused.   
  
Sora leaned against Riku's shoulder and sighed quietly. "She won't get us parted. No matter what she does or say, I will never leave you because you've been my best friend since I can think...."   
  
They had practically been together since their birth. Riku was one year old when Sora was born and though they were just little babies they somehow managed to be together all the time. Their parents never really intended them to be together but through a lot of coincidence they always ended up playing together.   
  
"You were a cute baby." Riku suddenly said, earning a punch on the arm.  
  
"How would you know? You were a baby, too."  
  
Both laughed and sighed in unison. After some silence Riku got up, nearly bumping his head on the table and held out his hand for Sora.  
  
"Come on, let's go out. I feel like training."  
  
Sora nodded and quickly got up, managing to bump his head.   
  
"Ow..." he muttered, rubbing his scalp while Riku covered his mouth to hold back the laughter. Sora wouldn't be pleased to see him laughing at him.   
  
~~~  
  
"That's all. I just hope they can work it out somehow..."   
  
Selphie had told Tidus the whole story about the Riku-Sora-Kairi triangle.   
  
"Hmmmm." Tidus answered twiddling his thumbs. "So what's the problem? I'm sure they can work it out, you don't have to worry about that."   
  
Selphie sighed and hung her head. "But Kairi...I'm really scared of her."  
  
Suddenly Tidus jumped up and picked up a stick from the ground. "Whatever she does, I'll save you from her!" He called in a surprisingly serious tone.  
  
Selphie wrinkled her nose in confusion and started to laugh, making Tidus frown.   
  
"Sorry.." she waved him off and shook her head to calm down. "But that was just too cute..." she giggled, making Tidus blush suddenly. 'Tee-hee...' She thought as she noticed and bounced to hug Tidus. No use in holding back now.  
  
"Thank you, Tidus! You're such a good friend!" 'And I wish you were more'   
  
Tidus was a little taken aback but responded by hugging her too.   
  
"I never really liked Kairi. We will just ignore her, and that's the best thing for Riku and Sora, too!"   
  
Selphie wasn't sure whether this was a good idea but maybe Tidus was right. He was cute, so why couldn't he be right, too? She giggled and hung herself onto Tidus arm.   
  
"C'mon! Let's go and see if we can find Riku and Sora...I wonder what they're doing." She was grinning mischievously and Tidus sighed as he realized what he was getting into.  
  
But it was *the* Selphie hanging on his arm, so he had no choice.  
  
"Fine.."  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku were fighting, and Sora was losing like always. Though he was getting better every time he still had no chance against Riku.  
  
"You're just too slow, Sora!" Riku called as he jumped on the Paopu tree, scoffing down at his friend.  
  
Sora scowled and launched himself at Riku, running up as fast as he could. Just at the moment he would've reached Riku, he slipped and fell straight into the water.   
  
Splash  
  
Riku glanced at the surface of the water, searching for his friend.   
  
"Sora?" He called after not seeing anything. He had to be under the water but where the hell was he? Riku frowned and looked again, scanning every detail to find Sora. He didn't notice a shadow behind him but the sound of dripping water caught his attention and a small smirk appeared on his lips. Sensing someone behind him he remained still, pretending to look at the water.   
  
As Sora's wooden sword dashed towards him he simply dodged and raised his own weapon at Sora's surprised face.  
  
"You're dead." Riku smirked.  
  
Sora stared at the sword that had stopped one inch before his forehead, his body tensing.   
  
The silver-haired boy's smirk turned into a soft smile and he put down his weapon, brushing back his hair. "You're still so slow, Sora though you're really getting better."  
  
The younger boy nodded and then shook his head like a puppy to dry them a little.   
  
"The water's cold." he muttered, rubbing his arms.   
  
Riku chuckled and turned around. The sun was directly behind him so Sora had to narrow his eyes. Riku was standing there, his hand extended towards Sora, an inviting smile on his lips. The sun behind him made him glow in a mysterious yet exciting way.   
  
Smiling, Sora caught Riku's hand, neither of them breaking the eye contact. It was like communicating through their eyes, saying things that words couldn't tell. Riku's grip tightened and he suddenly pulled Sora close, before jumping into the water, entangled.   
  
Sora had no time to gasp for they were under water at once, Riku holding Sora tight.   
  
They still looked into each other's eyes while the water around them made everything seem a little surreal. Just like a dream.   
  
Riku unwrapped his arms around Sora and entwined his fingers with Sora's while they drifted a little apart and then back together to kiss.   
  
From below the surface one could see them, looking like they were performing a water dance.   
  
Their lips remained pressed together for a long time while they let the water carry them wherever it was going. Their fingers were entwined and stayed entwined the whole time, connecting them and keeping them from drifting too far apart.   
  
After what seemed like eternity, which was still too short for Sora, Riku broke the kiss and swam up to the surface, pulling Sora with him. They emerged, both gasping for air and swam towards land.   
  
"That was...wow..." Sora murmured as they lay in the sand, letting the sun dry their clothes.   
  
Riku smirked. "True."  
  
Sora sighed contently and started humming that song Kairi used to sing.   
  
"Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on..."   
  
Riku's ears perked up and he looked at Sora questioningly.  
  
Sora blushed a little and shrugged. "I felt like it..."  
  
Riku chuckled and turned to look at the sky. "Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all...nothing's like before." He turned back at Sora and winked.   
  
Sora giggled and yawned before crossing his arms behind his head and taking a deep breath.   
  
"Somehow it feels wrong to sing something Kairi always sang...but it just entered my mind..."  
  
Riku nodded. "It fits." He smirked, instantly hovering over Sora's lips to steal a kiss.   
  
Sora chuckled and sighed dreamily.  
  
"Love you."   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: rWasn't that sweet? ^^ well, I hope it was at least a little sugary... hehe... Umm that part where Riku and Sora are under water came to my mind while I was listening to the PlanitB Remix of Simple and Clean ^.^   
  
And about those two singing...errr can you really imagine them singing that song? LOL I'd love to hear that hehe!   
  
Well, that's it for now, see ya next time and puh-leeeaaase review again ^_^ 


	12. The Fury

Author's Ranting: writer's block!!! argh... I tried to come up with something good but my writer's block doesn't want to go away.  
  
My muses have abandoned me, all my inspiration and motivation is GONE and I can't get anything done. -_-  
  
But since I didn't want to keep you waiting too long I wrote the next chapter as good as it gets... and again it's nearly no fluff and way too much plot... well, not even plot I guess...   
  
ack just read it..  
  
~~~  
  
Selphie and Tidus were looking for Sora and Riku when they saw two boys lying on the beach, singing incredibly horrible. Tidus's eyes widened and he plugged his ears while Selphie burst into laughter, rolling on the floor.  
  
Sora's mouth immediately fell shut and he started to blush furiously. Riku just looked annoyed. Fine, they couldn't sing but it wasn't *that* horrible...  
  
After tiring herself out from laughing, Selphie pounced on Sora, smiling brighter than the sun.  
  
"Sooo you two are still together?" She asked, extremely happy.  
  
Sora grinned and nodded.   
  
"Yay!" Selphie squealed, jumping off Sora to hug Riku. "I *so* knew it that you two could work it out!" She was so happy that she totally forgot about Kairi. Tidus just stood there and watched Selphie bouncing in ecstasy but was surprised when Selphie leapt towards him and grabbed his hands, spinning around. "Wheee!" she squealed, laughing heartly. Tidus started to laugh, too and Sora and Riku chuckled.   
  
"And I thought we were strange..." Sora muttered while Riku smirked.   
  
The day was turning out to be great, everyone was happy, the sun was shining brightly until it disappeared to be replaced by a breathtaking beautiful moon and no one ever thought about Kairi.  
  
~~~  
  
It was raining and he couldn't believe it. Yesterday the weather had been so fine and nobody would have thought that it would start to rain today...  
  
"Stupid rain...stupid rain...stupid rain.." Sora chanted while sitting in his room, watching the rain pour down in front of his window.  
  
A loud knock was audible.  
  
"Sora? Could you let me in?"   
  
Sora stopped cursing the rain and stiffened for a moment. The voice seemed too familiar. He wanted to crawl under his bed and hide because now that he knew what Kairi had done to him he just didn't want to have anything to do with her.  
  
"I don't mean to be a burden but it's pouring and it would be really nice if you let me in for a while." Yeah that was Kairi. Still sounding oh-so loving and nice. Sora snorted but decided to let her in anyway. It was raining cats and dogs, after all.   
  
The door cracked open and Sora gave the girl an annoyed look, which she just shrugged off. She smiled sweetly, Sora normally would have smiled too but this time he just rolled his eyes. He was mad at her and he had the right to be. Kairi looked around the room and sat herself on a chair, looking out of the window.  
  
"What a bad weather..." she muttered, sighing. Sora tapped his foot, waiting for her to get to the point. Why did she come here? Just to annoy him?  
  
"Kairi, what do you want?" He asked, intentionally not hiding his annoyance. The auburn haired girl raised an eyebrow at his impatience but eventually smiled sweetly again.   
  
"Oh, the weather was so bad that I thought I'd come here and spend some time with you. We haven't even seen each other yesterday and I was kind of worried..." she frowned, looking extremely thoughtful. "I was worried because of you and Riku. What happened? Did you...break up with him? Because if he still intends on using you, I will personally--"  
  
"Shut up!" Sora suddenly barked, clenching his fist. Kairi's eyes widened and she stared in confusion. Sora scowled and clenched his fist harder. "Riku is *not* using me." He growled. He didn't quite know why he was so angry with her but hearing her talk about Riku like that was really getting to him.  
  
Kairi narrowed her eyes, her plan didn't seem to work that well. If it was as she calculated Riku should already be somewhere drowning in depression and Sora should hate him as much as she hated Riku.  
  
"..what?" she asked in disbelief. Sora just sighed and plopped down on the bed. He had to tell Kairi to leave them alone or something. Make her understand that she was unwanted after what she did. But how should he do it?   
  
"You've gone too far, Kairi." Sora muttered, not looking at her but staring at the rain outside. How much he longed for Riku to be here instead of that annoying girl. Why couldn't Riku come here, in the middle of heavy rain, his soaking wet clothes clutching to his body. Sora's thoughts suddenly seemed fixed on Riku, imagining him bursting through the door, pushing Kairi away and claiming Sora himself. Kairi would then run away furiously and disappear in the tempest. Forever.   
  
"What did I do?" Kairi brought him out his thoughts again.   
  
Sora turned to her and scowled. He usually never scowled but right now he did look scary.   
  
"I'm serious, Kairi. Stop playing stupid. Because unfortunately, you're not stupid at all." He muttered, looking directly at her with the most serious expression one had ever seen on this face.  
  
Kairi was in trouble and she knew it. Somehow Sora had found out about her plan that she lied. Somehow...  
  
"Selphie." She hissed, narrowing her eyes. Why hadn't she thought about that? Selphie ran away to get some food. Of course, Kairi knew that she wasn't going to get food but she also didn't think that Selphie would deceive her that easily. She had been too confident in her plan and was already planning what to do with Sora once he and Riku were separated. It was such a good plan, too. But now that Selphie had betrayed her... How could she? She thought they were friends.   
  
Sora nodded and crossed his arms.  
  
"Kairi, I'm not going to ask why you did something like that to me. Or Riku. Or Selphie. I'm just asking you to..." he paused, frowning. He still saw Kairi as a friend, somehow at least. No matter how much he hated her right now, she had been a good friend to him as well as his girlfriend. Could he just forget all the time they spent together and tell her to get lost? Could he?  
  
"....to get the heck out of here and leave me and Riku alone for the rest of our lives!" Sora yelled without thinking twice. It was straight out of his heart.  
  
Kairi froze.   
  
"....."   
  
She looked at Sora, seeming close to crying. Her eyes were fixed on Sora's and her hands were clutching to the armrest of the chair.   
  
Sora's scowl disappeared and was replaced by a frown. Was she going to cry? He would feel sorry the moment she shed a tear, he knew it. Actually he already felt sorry, seeing her staring at him like this. Had this been to harsh? They hurt her a lot, he had to admit. What if she still cared so much for him that it would break her heart completely now? Sora bit his lip and watched Kairi.   
  
The girl started to shake slightly and her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Sora's heart sank to the deepest dark hole. Kairi's face twisted as she was about to cry and Sora prepared himself to feel extremely guilty.   
  
"I.so.hate.you." Kairi growled through clenched teeth. She then rushed up and slapped Sora as hard as she could, leaving a burning red mark on his cheek.  
  
"I hate you, Sora! I hate you!! I wish you would die!!" She screamed, slapping him again before bursting out of the room into the tempest, similar to Sora's imagination before.   
  
But he didn't feel good at all. First of all his cheek hurt. A lot. Also, he started to worry about Kairi, she was in the middle of a storm and probably careless since he just upset her like that. And Riku wasn't with him like he imagined. He was alone in his room.   
  
~  
  
Kairi was running through the rain, cursing Sora and Riku and even Selphie. She hated them all, how could they all turn against her? It was all Riku's fault. He started everything. He stole Sora from her, he made Selphie feel guilty enough to make her tell the truth. Riku was the worst person she ever met and she so wished he would die a painful death.   
  
The rain was getting heavier and stronger but she just kept running. She had to let out everything and ran as fast as she could until she suddenly slipped and fell straight on her face. She started to cry but got up, continuing to run. After a few steps she fell down again, this time slipping on a stone and hitting her head, hard. She was unconscious and went limb in an instant.  
  
~  
  
Riku was pacing around in his room, cursing the weather. He wanted to spend the day with Sora, they originally wanted to explore that cave Tidus found some days ago. It didn't even bother him that Selphie and Tidus were coming along since they were rather busy with each other right now. Riku chuckled. Cute pair. And it was very comfortable because he could be alone with Sora, too.   
  
Grabbing his raincoat Riku decided to pay his friend a little visit. He couldn't stand to stay in his room and not being able to see Sora for a day. Luckily he didn't live so far away and so Riku raced to Sora's house, seeing that the door was open. Raising an eyebrow he walked in and looked around. Nobody there. He removed his wet raincoat and placed in on the couch, heading for Sora's room.  
  
"Hello?" He called, peering into the quite messy room. Sora was huddled up in a corner, hugging his wooden sword. Hugging his wooden sword?! Riku wrinkled his nose in confusion and walked over to Sora.   
  
"Uh...what are you doing?" He inquired, waving a hand in front of Sora's face.  
  
"Huh?" Sora looked up, suddenly looking very surprised. Riku could see the redness on his cheeks and even the remains of a hand mark.  
  
"Riku?" He blinked.  
  
Sora held out his sword to Riku and smile shyly. "I was just hugging that sword cause I was thinking of you. you know it just reminds me of us... and I wanted you to be here, so.."   
  
Riku chuckled and shook his head before sighing. Sora was so adorable, in any situation.  
  
"Well, I was thinking of you too." He smiled, crouching down to his friend. He reached out to gently lay his hand on Sora's cheek and felt Sora wince. Did it hurt that much?  
  
He frowned and leaned to brush his lips against both of his cheeks before wandering up to kiss him on the forehead.   
  
Sora leaned forward to let himself sack against Riku who wrapped his arms around him, feeling that Sora wasn't as cheerful as usual.  
  
"What's the matter?" he softly asked, tracing circles on Sora's back.  
  
Sora sighed and shook his head. "Nothing...just...Kairi..." he murmured, burying his head in Riku's collarbone. "Don't...wanna think..about it now..." he added, letting himself go limb in Riku's arms.  
  
Riku tightened his arms around him and ran his hands all over his back in a soothing motion. He heard Sora sigh and smiled to himself.   
  
"Okay. Just forget that there's anything besides us." He whispered, kissing Sora's hair.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: What happened to Kairi? Well, she's not dead (Kairi-haters: nooo!!), she's just unconscious. She'll wake up...unfortunately. But to see what's going to happen when she does, stay tuned for the next chapter! And I couldn't think of anything good cause I'm still having a stupid writer's block. Just added the last scene to have at least something not too depressing and serious.   
  
I really hope this block goes away since I have lots of time now.   
  
Oh and in case you're wondering why Wakka isn't in any chapter...well, I don't need him *shrugs* I just can't think of anything to write with him so let's just pretend he doesn't exist *bg* 


	13. Revenge

Author's Ranting: ahhhh thanks to an angel I could write 2 whole chapters!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH MP!! So, since I *still* have that writer's block I didn't really have any ideas how to continue, BUT I got an email from a genius who gave me ideas! Thank you soo much, MP ^^  
  
~~~  
  
"Boring..." Wakka was playing with his Blitz ball, throwing it around the room. He wondered what the others were doing, probably nothing now that it was raining. But he hadn't seen them in a while, not one of them. He wondered how that whole Sora - Riku - Kairi thing was going since the last time he heard about it Selphie only said that Riku liked Sora. They hadn't said anything else at that time. On the other hand, he didn't really care.   
  
Bumping the ball against the wall in his room he absently stared out of the window, thinking of Kairi. Whatever happened to her? He still had no chance to get her attention though the last time had seemed to go pretty well. Maybe if he saw her again he could do something else to make her like him. The rain seemed to dissolve or at least the raindrops weren't as heavy as before and Wakka thought about going out to look for the others. He was bored anyway.  
  
And so he grabbed his ball and put over a raincoat and headed out into the cold weather.   
  
"I wonder if anyone is on the beach, ya..." Wakka mumbled to himself, walking around while he played with the ball. "I wonder if Tidus is around...kinda feel like playing Blitzball..." He was obviously bored and decided to make a run so he could reach the beach faster. As he ran he suddenly tripped over a stone and nearly fell over, stumbling forward to see something lying on the ground.  
  
"Huh?" He squinted at the 'thing' on the ground and walked over only to stare in shock.  
  
"Kairi?!" He yelled, rushing to her side, quickly cradling her in his arms.   
  
The auburn-haired girl was totally soaked and seemed to have hit her head since she had a little wound on her forehead.   
  
"Kairi?" he whispered, still staring in shock at her. Why didn't she open her eyes?  
  
"Kairi..." Wakka whispered yet again, shaking her slightly. But as she didn't move, Wakka decided to bring her back to her house, taking care of her until she woke up.  
  
Getting Kairi into the warm room, he placed her into her bed and covered her with a blanket. It was just like a light bulb appeared over his head as he suddenly had the best idea in his life. Why not take good care of Kairi and make her feel comfortable around him so she would maybe like him more than anyone else?   
  
Yes, that was a good idea. And so Wakka tried to find something to make tea and everything to make Kairi feel better soon.  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile Sora and Riku were snuggled up against each other, enjoying each other's presence while watching the rain pour down in front of the window. Sora's cheek was still burning like hell, Kairi had a lot of strength when she was mad..  
  
He suddenly felt Riku nuzzle against his hurting cheek, placing feather-light kisses on the reddened place to make the pain go away. Sora sighed contently and leaned into the wonderful touch, enjoying every second of it.   
  
Though Sora hadn't told him what had happened before, Riku had the feeling that he already knew. Kairi had probably found out that her plan didn't work, slapped Sora and ran away. Kairi was pretty predictable, even if she acted like a psycho.  
  
As Riku felt Sora lean into his kisses he smirked and gave him a wet smoochie, almost sucking on the cheek.  
  
Sora made a funny noise and pulled away to look at Riku with an adorable mix of pout and smile. He put his hand to his cheek and wiped the saliva off his face.  
  
"Why did'cha do that?" He asked, looking at Riku a little puzzled, unable to hide his blush.  
  
Riku smiled and shrugged. "Felt like it?" he offered, leaning in to kiss Sora's nose.  
  
Sora chuckled and shook his head before looking up at Riku again. "Why do you always make me feel like that?"   
  
Riku raised his eyebrow. "Like what?"   
  
The younger boy chewed on his lip and eventually shrugged. "Like...this!" He looked at Riku, a little helplessly. Riku laughed and wrapped his arms around his friend kissing him again, this time on the lips. First it was just a touching of lips but then Riku let his tongue slide out to gain entrance to Sora's mouth and the younger boy obeyed. Their kiss deepened, Sora eagerly using his tongue like Riku.  
  
After some time they broke their kiss, Riku smirking at his friend.  
  
"Like how it feels?"  
  
Sora caught his breath and stared at Riku, nodding once.  
  
"Definitely."  
  
~~  
  
Kairi stirred awake, slowly opening her eyes as she realized that someone was sitting next to her. What happened?  
  
"Hey you're awake, ya?"   
  
The girl jumped in surprise as she heard Wakka's voice. She turned her head to see Wakka sitting next to her, holding a cup of something, looking worried.  
  
"..what..happened?" Kairi muttered, suddenly feeling the pain inside her head.  
  
Wakka shrugged. He had hoped that Kairi would be able to tell him what happened.   
  
Kairi sighed and coughed a little, trying to remember why she was feeling so miserable.  
  
"Hey, drink this. Should help you to get warm." Wakka offered her the cup of tea as he noticed that the girl was shivering slightly.  
  
Kari blinked but nodded and took the cup, sipping slowly on it. Wakka seemed to be the only one that was nice to her... Not like Selphie or Sora or...  
  
"Riku..." she muttered. Now she remembered. She had been out in the rain and hit her head when she fell. And it was all Riku's fault.   
  
"What about Riku?" Wakka curiously asked.   
  
Kairi frowned and hung her head. She wasn't in the mood to be angry anymore, somehow she felt horrible, in a sad and depressed way.   
  
"He and Sora...they're together now...and Sora dumped me...said he doesn't want to see me again..." she sighed.  
  
"It's Riku's fault. He...he took Sora from me...Sora would have never...he would have never done that....Riku is...Riku is doing something to him..."  
  
Wakka narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw a tear running down Kairi's cheek. Was she really crying?  
  
"And Sora has no clue what Riku is doing to him! Sora is just too nice and too naive to see it! I...I asked Selphie to help me to make Sora see what Riku is doing to him! And do you know what happened? Selphie sided with Riku! She betrayed me! I thought we were friends!! Everyone left me...." she burst into tears and Wakka suddenly felt very uneasy and something like hatred against Riku started to build in him. He never liked Riku that much. Well, they were friends but they were more like rivals, or at least Wakka always tried to beat Riku at everything. And now Kairi was crying because of Riku?  
  
Kairi sobbed a little more and buried her face in her hands. The headache made everything worse.  
  
Wakka frowned deeply. Riku was definitely going to pay for this. Seeing Kairi like this made Wakka hate Riku even more and he wanted to avenge her. First because she would definitely like him if he beat up Riku for her and, of course, he really felt bad for Kairi after hearing what Riku did to her. Riku deserved a punishment and Wakka was going to punish him for good.  
  
"Leave it to me, Kairi. I'm on your side." Wakka placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded at her.  
  
Kairi was surprised and blinked, her tears stopping for a moment.   
  
"What are you going to do..?" she breathed, her voice too hoarse from crying.  
  
Wakka shook his head. "Just leave it to me."   
  
Kairi sighed but decided that she should just let Wakka do as he wanted. She wasn't in the mood to do anything right now, she just wanted to...what? She didn't know. Maybe just lie in her bed, waiting for time to pass. But after thinking some minutes her mind started to drift off and she fell asleep rather quickly. Wakka waited for her to be fully asleep and decided to challenge Riku to a duel the next day. He would make him pay for what he'd done.  
  
~~  
  
Back to Riku and Sora...  
  
"Would you stay here for the rest of the day and..um...night?" Sora quietly asked as Riku seemed to doze off on the bed.  
  
"Huh? Oh..sure...if it's okay for you.." he somehow sounded a little strange...maybe he was just tired.  
  
Sora nodded and plopped down on the floor to switch on his playstation. "Wanna play? Since we can't go out because it's still raining..." He turned to Riku and grinned absolutely cute as he held up the controller.   
  
Riku smiled but shook his head, putting his hand on his forehead. "I'd love to but I'm..." he sighed, gritting his teeth. "I think I'm getting a headache..."   
  
Sora immediately frowned. He knew that Riku wasn't someone who was whining about everything and anything so he wouldn't say he has a headache unless it was really hurting.  
  
"Oh...you ok?" he asked, getting up to go over to his friend.  
  
Riku nodded. "Sure. It's nothing, really. Just a little headache, maybe I'm getting a cold since I ran through the rain in these clothes..."   
  
Usually it was always hot and sunny on Destiny Island but when it started to rain it turned into the worst weather possible.  
  
Suddenly Sora's arms came flying towards Riku, hugging him so tight that Riku thought he was going to suffocate.   
  
"I'll get some medicine and take care of you!" Sora sounded so adorably determined and self-confident that Riku had to chuckle, pegging his forehead before pulling away, crossing his arms.  
  
"Fine. Go ahead, take care of me." Riku smirked.  
  
"You're not making fun of me, are you?" Sora suspiciously asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend.   
  
"No, of course not." Riku smiled.  
  
Sora made a noise sounding like 'hmpf' and rushed into the bathroom to get some aspirin. He came back with a glass of water and Riku swallowed the medicine, smiling gratefully before holding his head again.  
  
Sora just sat with him, watching him.  
  
...  
  
"...what?"   
  
Sora was staring at Riku with concentration.  
  
"Why're you looking at me like that?" Riku asked, a little amused by his friend's cute expression.   
  
"You're gonna be ok?" Sora worriedly asked, looking almost as if he was going to cry every other second. Shouldn't the aspirin help? If it really helped, why was Riku still feeling bad? Why wasn't the medicine working??  
  
"Sure. Don't worry. The aspirin takes some time to show the effect and besides that...a little cold won't bring me down."  
  
Riku smiled and patted Sora's head.   
  
Sora pouted slightly and pushed his head up against Riku's hand in order to get it away but Riku only smirked and ruffled his hair affectionately.  
  
"Are you sure you're not making fun of me?" Sora asked, pouting like the little baby he sometimes was.  
  
Riku's heart melted instantly and he hugged his friend close to give him another kiss.  
  
"You're so cute, you know that?" he whispered into his ear, feeling a lot better just by holding Sora.  
  
Sora groaned but didn't pull away to mutter,   
  
"I'm not *cute*..."  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Ooooh what is Wakka gonna do??? Oh and yeah this wasn't my idea...cause like I said, I couldn't think of anything to do with Wakka but thanks to the email of MP I have something to write about again! YAYNESS!  
  
Thanks MP; thanks to all the reviews who keep reviewing and thanks to the flamers and everyone who hates yaoi, I will write A LOT MORE YAOI just for you *evil grin*  
  
heh...so, yeah, please keep reviewing like always! ^^ 


	14. The Duel

Author's Ranting: and here's the next chapter, still inspired by MP's idea! What is Wakka planning??   
  
You'll see....  
  
~~~  
  
Sora had fallen asleep while 'taking care' of Riku.   
  
It was only five in the morning when Riku woke up and decided to go for a short walk since the weather was nice again. He still had a headache and was coughing a little but this wasn't going to stop him.   
  
When he closed the door behind him and stepped into the fresh morning air he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling of the upcoming sun warming his face. It was very relaxing and soothing. The only thing that was even better was Sora. Riku smiled. Sora had tried to stay awake the night to take care of Riku but he fell asleep, hanging all over Riku. When Riku first woke up he wondered why he was having such a hard time breathing but when he opened his eyes he found Sora lying on top of him.   
  
"Riku."   
  
Riku snapped out of his thoughts and turned around to see Wakka standing behind him.  
  
"Wakka." he stated, raising an eyebrow at the other boy. Why did he look so angry?  
  
Wakka looked Riku straight in the eye and scowled. "I challenge you to a duel. Just you and me."  
  
Riku blinked and then rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to learn his lesson any time soon, was he? He had no chance in beating Riku. The only one who could have had a chance to compete with him would be Sora but the rest like Tidus, Selphie and Wakka weren't anything.  
  
"I'm serious, ya." Wakka threatened.  
  
Riku shrugged and nodded. "Fine."  
  
"Today at noon. Not at the Paopu tree, I will choose the place. We fight on the beach next to the piers." Wakka sounded so different from usual, Riku noted. He sounded as if he was really, really serious about this. But what reason could Wakka have to be angry with Riku? Sure, Riku had beaten him quite often but that was always during their training duels, it was just because Riku was a better fighter. It wasn't anything personal...so why was Wakka acting like this?  
  
"Bring your friends if you like. But don't let them interrupt us. This is something between me and you."   
  
Riku nodded and Wakka left without saying anything else.   
  
"Rikuuu!"   
  
Just as Riku was about to let his thoughts fix on his wonderful Sora again, a shrieking voice prevented him from doing so.  
  
Selphie and - surprisingly - Tidus with her.  
  
"Morning.." Riku muttered, wondering why everyone was already up. Usually they all got up at noon. And the fact that he felt slightly nauseatic didn't help at all.  
  
"Have you heard anything about Kairi?" Selphie asked, bouncing like she had too much sugar.  
  
Riku shook his head.   
  
"No. Just saw Wakka." he muttered.   
  
Tidus raised his eyebrows. "Wakka?"  
  
Riku rolled his eyes. Why did he have to repeat himself? "Yes Wakka. He challenged me to a duel today at noon..."  
  
Selphie squealed and jumped happily. "Whee! That's gonna be great! We'll all watch you kick Wakka's butt!" Tidus shook his head and sighed. Selphie was way too hyper for five in the morning...how did she manage to be like that?  
  
Riku shrugged and waved at them to announce that he was going back home - to Sora's home actually.  
  
~~  
  
Coming back, he saw that Sora was still sleeping like a baby, all huddled up in blankets and pillows. Riku smiled and decided to crawl into bed as well to cuddle a little. Yes, Riku was cuddly, as ridiculous as it sounded.  
  
"Feeling better?" A muffled question came as Riku wrapped his arms around the boy.  
  
"Mmm." Riku breathed, nuzzling Sora's hair. The younger boy opened his eyes and looked at Riku before smiling sheepishly.  
  
"I really tried to stay up, you know...."   
  
Riku chuckled and shook his head. "You did a good job. I'm feeling a lot better now." Though he was lying because he actually felt worse than the day before. He just didn't want to disappoint Sora and besides that he had a duel today.  
  
"Oh yeah, Wakka challenged me. Today at noon." Riku muttered.   
  
Sora sighed and suddenly grinned. "He doesn't get it, does? I'm the only one who can compete with you."   
  
Riku laughed. He had been thinking the same thing.   
  
"Yeah but that doesn't mean that you'll ever have the chance to actually *beat* me." He smirked and Sora blew him a raspberry.  
  
~~  
  
Noon. Riku and Wakka were facing each other, Riku holding his sword, Wakka holding his Blitzball. Selphie, Tidus and Sora were sitting on the bridge as audience and watched them.  
  
"You'll pay." Wakka hissed as he narrowed his eyes.  
  
Riku just looked at him confused but eventually shrugged it off and waited for Wakka to attack.  
  
They circled around each other, Wakka insulting Riku with the meanest things while Riku had no idea why Wakka was doing that. After some time he decided to attack and ran towards Wakka, dashing his sword forward. Unfortunately Wakka was able to dodge and used the opportunity to throw his Blitzball. He missed. Riku was, as always, faster than him and had already moved to the side.  
  
"You bastard!" Wakka yelled, trying to hit Riku again.   
  
"Why are you calling me that?" Riku confusedly asked. He hadn't done anything to him, had he?   
  
"How can you be so cruel?!" Wakka countered, totally ignoring Riku's protests. They continued fighting, Riku always using his best combos while Wakka used some of his special attacks he especially practised for Riku. Both of them were pretty good although Riku was still the better one. Selphie and Sora both cheered for Riku while Tidus wasn't sure whether to cheer for Wakka or Riku. He then decided to cheer for Wakka. It was just a duel, wasn't it?  
  
"Come on Wakka! You can beat him!" Tidus cheered.  
  
Wakka growled and ran towards Riku, faking to throw the ball so that Riku moved to the side. When Riku was standing there, thinking that he had dodged the attack, Wakka rammed the ball into Riku's stomach.   
  
"Riku!" Sora yelled as he saw Riku holding his stomach in pain. Wakka was strong, he had to admit. The silver-haired boy growled and decided that the pain was meaningless, going for a counter attack.   
  
And so he jumped into the air to hit Wakka from above, and of course succeeded.  
  
Wakka was hit pretty hard and nearly sank to the ground.   
  
"You mean bastard." he growled though it was obvious that he wasn't angry because Riku hit him but because of something else.  
  
"What did I do?" Riku demanded.   
  
Wakka snorted and launched himself at Riku again.  
  
"You'll pay you little...!" They continued fighting and their friends continued cheering.   
  
Riku suddenly felt nauseatic again and his vision began to blur.   
  
'My head...' he thought, feeling a sneering pain inside his head. He also started to feel very cold, he was almost shaking.   
  
Wakka took the opportunity to beat the heck out of Riku who was wincing in pain every time he was hit.   
  
"Riku!" Sora cried out, worrying about his friend. He wanted to get up and help him but when he was about to jump up Riku pulled himself together and glared at Sora.  
  
"Don't! This is my duel, you have nothing to do with it!" he yelled.  
  
At first Sora was taken aback, almost a little hurt, but then he remembered Riku's fighting spirit. He was always like that. If there was battle he would do it, alone. And still, he felt awful having to watch Wakka beat him like that.   
  
Riku tried to get his body to function again and managed to hit Wakka a few times. Unfortunately it was too little and he sank to the ground while Wakka kept insulting him and throwing his ball at him.  
  
"Stop it!" Selphie shouted, rushing up to stop Wakka. "Don't! Can't you see he's lying on the ground?!" Selphie cried. Wakka still growled and kicked Riku one last time before strolling off. Tidus blinked in confusion and ran after Wakka. Why was he acting like that? He had never fought like that.  
  
Sora quickly rushed over to Riku and took him into his arms.  
  
"H-hey...you're ok? Riku?" He asked quietly, frantically.  
  
Riku was breathing heavily and sweating although he was shaking like a leaf. Selphie frowned and put a hand to his forehead, noting that he was burning.  
  
"Gods, Sora! He has high fever!" she grabbed Sora's hand and put it to Riku's forehead only to have it nearly burned.   
  
"Whoa!" Sora yelped. Riku was really burning. And he had been fighting in this state?! No wonder Wakka was able to beat him.   
  
Selphie and Sora did their best to carry Riku home to have him rest.   
  
~~  
  
"Kairi?" Wakka came stomping in.  
  
Kairi was sitting on her bed, still having a headache.  
  
"I took care of Riku." He muttered, wishing that he could have done more. Just when he was so enraged he would have wanted to kick Riku senseless, to let him pay for making a nice girl like Kairi cry. Wakka was determined that from now on, he was going to be her 'knight', protecting her from that bastard.  
  
"What did you do?" Kairi asked, frowning a little. Wakka shrugged and threw his ball into a corner.   
  
"Fought him and beat him. He looked pretty messed up after I was done."  
  
Kairi's eyes widened and she gasped. "You mean you went to beat him up?!"   
  
Wakka hesitated a little but then nodded. "Ya." Was it wrong? Did Kairi want him to do something else? He thought it was the best thing...it was the first thing that came to his mind.  
  
He looked at Kairi, waiting for her reaction.   
  
And there, the girl on the bed was staring at him with big eyes before her lips raised to a smile. A content smile.  
  
"And is he hurt? You know, like, really *bad*?" she curiously asked. Wakka nodded.   
  
"Was lying on the ground when I left after kicking him one last time."  
  
Kairi's eyes, if possible, went wider and she started to grin. "Cool! And you..." she blushed a little. "You did that just for me?"   
  
Wakka gulped and blushed a little himself. "Um...ya...I guess..." he stuttered, hoping that Kairi would like him now.  
  
The girl got up and hugged Wakka. "Wow thanks! You're the only friend I have right now..."   
  
Wakka hugged her back, inwardly doing a little happy dance. Kairi was hugging him and thanking him! So he did the right thing, after all!  
  
~~  
  
"Riku...?"   
  
Riku's eyes slowly opened to see Sora bending over him. His vision was still blurred and he felt like someone had just crushed his head with a hammer. He coughed as he opened his mouth to say something. When did he last feel so bad? He couldn't remember feeling like this before.   
  
"What..?" he breathed, feeling a sting in his head. Sora bit his lower lips and laid a cold wet cloth on his forehead to make him feel a little better. Riku gasped slightly and then sighed, closing his eyes again.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that you have fever?" Sora quietly asked.   
  
Riku didn't answer, not because he didn't hear Sora but more because he felt too horrible to do anything right now.  
  
Sora sighed and stroked Riku's hair.   
  
"Tonight I'll really stay up and take care of you, I promise."   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: ne? how was it? liked it? ah in case you're wondering...NO they don't have parents here! LOL... well, they have..but I'm ignoring the fact that they have parents...the story's pretty good without parents.  
  
oh and evil wakka...well, having a crush on EVIL Kairi makes Wakka EVIL too LOL... nah they're not really evil but they have to be like that to move the plot along!  
  
so yeah...review again? hehe... next chapter will be full of fluff I guess...Sora taking care of Riku ^_^ 


	15. Sora just doesn't listen

Author's Ranting: Oh I was actually planning to write this chapter way earlier but somehow I got addicted to watching Gravitation and I couldn't bring myself to write..  
  
Luckily my bandwidth is not that great and the next episodes are not downloaded yet so I have written the next chapter! Horray!  
  
Mmmm...lots of fluff for this chapter, enjoy! ^_^  
  
~~~  
  
Sora was sitting beside Riku, frowning. He didn't want Riku to be ill.   
  
"Be healthy. Now." He pouted, knowing that it wouldn't help at all.   
  
"Come on. Get healthy." He whined. He had no idea how to take care of someone who was ill. He didn't know anything about medicine besides some aspirin. But this seemingly didn't help, so what else was he supposed to do? He sighed and changed the water for the cloth he lay on Riku's forehead. Maybe he should get some help from Selphie? Girls always knew how to take care of people...   
  
Sighing, he went back to Riku and smiled to see him sleeping peacefully. Maybe he should make some tea or something warm for him.   
  
"Yup, I'll do that!" He determinedly said and put the cloth on Riku's forehead before running off to the kitchen.  
  
"Okay...tea...tea..." Sora looked around. Where was the tea? At least he knew how to make tea, he just didn't know if he had anything here. Muttering something to himself, he rummaged through the kitchen to find anything usable.   
  
Riku opened one eye as he heard a lot of noise in the kitchen. He wondered what had happened and opened the other eye to look around the room. He was in Sora's room. A loud crash was audible and Riku wondered what was going on in the kitchen. Then he heard someone whine, the voice sounded awfully like Sora.   
  
"Sora?" He asked, but his voice was too weak and quiet for Sora to hear. He just sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for Sora to come back. His fever hadn't gone down but he felt a little better, knowing that he was lying in his favourite bed. He almost liked it better than his own.  
  
Sora cursed silently and rubbed his head where that stupid pan had hit him. He hated those pans that hung from above over the stove. At least he had found some tea. Now he had to boil the water.   
  
"Okay..just boil the water...nothing can go wrong..." He muttered, pouring the water into the kettle. But as soon as he turned the stove on he unintentionally pushed a plate over the edge of the cupboard and it fell to the ground with a loud crash.   
  
Riku opened his eyes again, wondering what Sora was doing there. He was almost worried that Sora could do something to himself like stabbing himself while trying to cut something, he was a such klutz sometimes. But then again, he was too cute to have anything happen to him. Riku chuckled. It was true, nothing bad ever happened to Sora. Maybe it was really his cuteness that kept away the danger.  
  
"Riku!"   
  
Sora came running in with a cup of tea, grinning happily. "I made it!" he was so proud of himself that he didn't look where he was going and nearly fell over something lying on the ground. His room really need to be tidied up. Luckily he caught himself and stumbled over to Riku, landing exactly before him.  
  
"Tea." Sora grinned, his eyes sparkling.   
  
Riku smiled and coughed a little, taking the tea to drink a little. He then sighed and looked at Sora.   
  
"...you..look cute..." He suddenly said.  
  
Sora's cheeks got beet-red immediately and he stared at his feet, smiling a little. He didn't like to be called cute but somehow Riku made it sound so nice that he almost started to feel giddy. Riku chuckled and drank some more of his tea, noting that Sora was standing way too close to him.  
  
"Sora, get out."   
  
Sora's gaze snapped up and he stared in confusion. "W-what?"   
  
"Get away from me." Riku casually said.  
  
Sora frowned and pursed his lips together, pouting at Riku.  
  
"Why?" he sounded as if he was going to cry. Why was Riku telling him to leave? He wanted to take care of him and be with him, so why would Riku suddenly want him out?  
  
Riku coughed and placed the tea on the table beside the bed.   
  
"Because you'll get sick too, silly." Riku softly said, smiling at Sora who was already starting to fight his tears. "I just don't want you to be sick too, okay? Stay away from me for at least one day..."   
  
Sora looked up at Riku with the most serious expression he ever had and scowled. "No."  
  
His features darkened even more and he clenched his fists, making Riku raise his eyebrow in surprise.   
  
"I'm not leaving you, Riku." Sora quietly said, still scowling at Riku.  
  
The silver-haired boy tried to sit up, wondering what was wrong with Sora.  
  
"But--"   
  
Sora's arms came flying around him and hugged him tightly.  
  
"I'm going to take care of you." Sora murmured, tightening his arms around Riku while Riku felt like Sora would never let him go again. He knew that Sora wouldn't let him go, not now, so he just sighed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"It's just for your own good, Sora..." he tried to argue but Sora violently shook his head and tightened his arms even more, making Riku's ribs almost break. The older boy coughed and tapped Sora's back in order to make him notice what he was doing. "Sora--you're breaking my ribs--" Riku hoarsely said, hoping that Sora would let go. Sora, however, didn't let go and just hugged him even tighter and Riku suddenly noticed a tear running down Sora's face.  
  
"Sora? You're...crying?" he asked in disbelief.   
  
Sora sobbed and mumbled something incoherently before abruptly letting go of Riku and sitting down on the floor beside the bed.  
  
Silence followed, and both boys just sat there, motionless.  
  
Why was Sora crying?   
  
"Sora...?" Riku then asked.   
  
Sora heaved a long sigh and got up. "I'll show you that I can take care of you. This is all my fault. If you hadn't come here though the rain... I'll show you that I'm worth all the trouble, Riku." he said, sounding so determined and absolutely adorable that Riku smiled.  
  
"I already know that you're worth all the trouble, silly." he lazily replied, feeling very tired all of the sudden.  
  
Sora pouted at Riku for calling him silly and crossed his arms, looking down at Riku.  
  
"Just let me nurse you, I promise I'll leave you alone as soon as I feel sick."   
  
Riku looked at Sora for a moment, his eyes lingering on Sora's pink lips. They looked so soft and sweet, almost like some kind of candy that he wished to have. Especially when they were pursed together in an adorable pout, they made him want to kiss Sora never stop.   
  
'No don't start with that..' Riku reminded himself. He was still ill and couldn't risk to pass it on to Sora. Although Sora was probably sick already since he had spent the whole time with him and even hugged him. 'Hmm...might as well kiss him then...' Riku thought, still looking longingly at Sora. Shaking his head slightly he decided to be strong and let his fever die away quickly so he would be able to be with Sora again.  
  
"Maybe you should take a hot bath?" Sora's voice pulled Riku out of his thoughts.  
  
"..what?" Somehow the image of him and Sora bathing *together* entered his mind and he couldn't help but blush as he realized what he was thinking.  
  
"I mean, a hot bath is always good, isn't it? And I could go and ask Selphie for some help while you're bathing..." Sora murmured, admitting that he had no idea how to take care of someone without a girl's help.  
  
Although Riku knew that Sora would have never actually joined him, he still felt a little bit disappointed that Sora was planning to leave while he was in the shower.  
  
"I don't feel like bathing right now.." Riku muttered, lying back down and closing his eyes. "Maybe later.." he mumbled, feeling his headache return. The fever hadn't gone down and now it was starting to show. He had just felt good for moment because his mind was too fixed on his cute Sora to be sick but now the illusion vanished and the flu took over.   
  
Sora watched Riku's chest heave up and down and noticed that it started to get slower and even. Soon, Riku was lying relaxed and sprawled on his bed, sleeping peacefully.  
  
Sora chuckled. Now was his chance.  
  
He carefully bent over, his face hovering over Riku's as he smiled happily for what was going to happen next.  
  
"Don't even think about it, Sora."  
  
Sora jumped in surprise and ungracefully fell on his rear end, staring wide-eyed at Riku.  
  
The silver-haired boy had a smirk on his lips as one green eye opened, glancing at his younger friend.  
  
"I told you you'll get sick if you do that." he scolded, still smirking.  
  
"Hmpf!" Sora pouted, crossing his arms while sitting crossed-legged on the ground. "You're so mean, Riku." He whined, sticking out his tongue to emphasize it.  
  
Riku sighed and closed his eyes again.  
  
"It's just for your own good, Sora. Just for your own good..."  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile Tidus had followed Wakka and overheard the conversation with Kairi. Knowing everything about the situation, he smacked his forehead for Wakka's credulity. Kairi could have told him that Riku was an alien and here to take over Destiny Island and he would've probably believed it.   
  
Tidus sighed and decided to better go back to Selphie to tell her. She always knew what to do.  
  
Strolling back to the beach he found that everybody was gone and pondered if he should go to Selphie's or Sora's or Riku's house. How should he know where they went??   
  
He sighed again and decided to first visit Selphie's place.  
  
"Squirrels...squirrels and coconuts....coconuts and lightening..."  
  
"Selphie?"  
  
Selphie stopped singing her new song that she had made up while running around like a hyperactive puppy and opened her door to see Tidus.  
  
"Hey Tidus!" She squealed, pulling him in. "I was starting to wonder where you went!"  
  
Tidus frowned. *Starting* to wonder? He was gone for a few hours now and all she did was sing a very, let's say unique, song and *start* to wonder?  
  
"I followed Wakka." He replied, forgetting what he was thinking before.  
  
Selphie immediately turned serious and nodded. "Oh. And? What have you found out? Why is he acting so weird?"  
  
Tidus sat down with her and started telling her what he had heard about Kairi and Wakka's conversation.  
  
~  
  
"So Wakka is siding with Kairi?"   
  
Tidus nodded. Selphie narrowed her eyes.  
  
"That. Means. War."   
  
Tidus raised his eyebrows at Selphie, he could almost imagine her running around like Rambo, shouting something about war against the evil Kairi.  
  
"We need to make Wakka understand what Kairi is really doing and we need to make Kairi understand that she has to *stop* harassing our sweet couple, right?!" Selphie was already bouncing like a cheerleader and Tidus found himself nodding dumbly.  
  
Selphie looked at him and put her hands to her hips. "I said, RIGHT?!"   
  
Tidus jumped up and punched the air. "RIGHT!" He enthusiastically yelled before quietly sitting down again and looking at Selphie a little scared. He did like her a lot but sometimes her enthusiasm and her need for others to be enthusiastic too was a little scary.  
  
The girl in yellow however was pleased with his faked enthusiasm, it was enough for her.   
  
"We'll wait until Riku gets better and then we'll work this out...if you know what I mean." She giggled manically and started bouncing around, singing something about winning against the evil ones.  
  
Tidus sighed. This was going to be complicated....  
  
~~  
  
Back to Sora and Riku.  
  
Sora had decided that the best medicine was sleep and left the room while Riku slept. He was still trying to figure out how to make Riku healthy again and looked out of the window.  
  
It was getting dark already...and he was getting tired. He wondered where he should sleep, now that Riku was taking the bed. Of course he would have loved to share the bed with Riku but since he didn't want him to come near...  
  
Sora whined. This was so unfair. He wouldn't get sick, he hadn't been sick for years so why now? Riku was just too careful and too worried about everything.   
  
"I don't care if you pass your fever to me, I don't care." Sora muttered, pondering what to do. Maybe he could just sneak into the room and crawl into bed with Riku without waking him. Riku was sleeping anyway so he just had to be quiet enough so he wouldn't notice. And once in bed, Riku wouldn't have the heart to kick him off the bed. It was his bed, after all.  
  
Suddenly grinning he rushed to his room, quietly opening the door to peer in. As he saw that Riku was sleeping peacefully he grinned even more and sneaked to the bed. He took the blanket and pulled it a little up so he could sneak under it, snuggling up to Riku.  
  
'Success!' He had managed to get in without waking Riku.  
  
He sighed contently, smiling brightly as he closed his eyes and nuzzled into Riku's warm body.   
  
"You just don't listen, do you?" He heard Riku mutter but as he was about to frown and crawl out in defeat, he felt Riku wrap his arms around him, tugging his head under his chin. Sora waited a moment and didn't move, wondering if Riku would really let him stay.  
  
"Goodnight, silly." Riku whispered, and Sora almost thought he felt a kiss on his hair.  
  
"Goodnight..." he happily whispered back, cuddling with Riku a little more before kissing the shoulder he was nuzzling in.  
  
"And don't call me silly..." he muttered.  
  
Riku chuckled.  
  
And they both fell into peaceful sleep.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: nice? ok? horrible? any death-threads? ^-^ Well, I hope you liked it, Riku's gonna be healthy soon! (Sora is still the best medicine... ^_^)  
  
Yeah and let's see what Selphie is planning for her 'WAR'... O.O 


	16. Happy End?

Author's Ranting: GOMENASAAAAI!!! I'm so so so sooo sorry that this chapter took soo long!! ***this is not the last chapter! I wanted to make it the last one but it's not. It's just the end of one season, if you want to call it that. After this chapter, new problems will arive! yay! hehe... so read and enjoy****  
  
~~~  
  
"Aaaa~~chooo...."   
  
Riku was standing at the door in Sora's room, shaking his head at the huddled up mass in the bed.  
  
"Didn't I tell you--"   
  
A row of coughing interrupted Riku just when he was about to scold his friend for being so unreasonable. Sora was shaking while coughing almost his lungs out and kicked around like a little baby.  
  
"I'm NOT sick, Riku!" he sneezed and pouted.   
  
Riku rolled his eyes and shook his head, starting to head for the kitchen.  
  
"I'll go and make some breakfast, you stay in bed. Since you took so great care of me, I'm going to make you some breakfast."   
  
Sora sighed and covered his mouth with his hand to prevent him from coughing. He wasn't going to be sick, Riku wasn't going to be right, he was just coughing a little. And sneezing. And he felt cold. But NO he was not sick....  
  
~~  
  
Tidus rubbed his eyes as he noticed that he was still in Selphie's room. The sun had come up and he realized that he had spent the night in her room. Actually he couldn't quite remember when he fell asleep. "Must have been somewhere between Selphie's ideas of punishing Kairi and her weird squirrel-song she suddenly started singing...." he muttered to himself, noticing something yellow curled up in the corner of the bed.  
  
"Selphie?" He asked, getting up from his chair to look at the 'thing' on the bed. As he looked closer he covered his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from laughing. Selphie had obviously fallen asleep while talking since hand was raised, one finger held up just as though he just had an idea, while her mouth was forming an O like she was going to say something. Suddenly the girl stirred awake.  
  
"Morning." Tidus said, flashing her a smile. At first she looked a little puzzled but then her eyes shot open and she squealed in delight. "Tidus!"   
  
The next thing he remembered was Selphie bouncing around on her bed with the brightest smile mankind had ever seen. How could she be like that just after waking up? Really amazing...  
  
"Hey Tidus!" She suddenly stopped, looking totally serious. Tidus raised his eyebrows. "What?"  
  
The girl calmed down and sat on her bed, rubbing her cheek while she knitted her brows together as if thinking. Tidus waited for her to say something. Just as he was about to ask, Selphie made a fist and punched the air, grinning happily.   
  
"WAR!!" she cried out, still grinning like a maniac, making Tidus almost frown in fear. How could she be so happy about war? And what did she mean by war?   
  
"What do you think...we should do?" Tidus hesitantly asked, getting into defence stance in fear to get hurt by a bouncing Selphie. The girl stopped again and looked around.  
  
"I have no idea." She stated, smiling sweetly. "Maybe we should go ask Riku and Sora."   
  
Tidus sighed and nodded. He should have known that Selphie had no idea what to do. But it was cute how determined she was.   
  
~~  
  
A knock was audible and Sora climbed out of his bed, strolling to the door while Riku was still preparing breakfast.  
  
"Moooorni~ing!" Selphie squealed even before Sora had opened the door. Rolling his eyes, he groaned and opened the door, ready for his bouncy friend to chatter about random things. Selphie was a really good friend, she was just a little tiring in the morning.  
  
"Morning." Riku said with a smile, suddenly standing behind Sora.   
  
Tidus nodded as a greeting and tried to calm a bouncing Selphie.   
  
"Are you feeling better?" Selphie asked, suddenly noticing that Riku was looking extremely healthy while Sora seemed to sneeze every now and then. Wasn't Riku the one who had been sick? Had they switched bodies over night or something?  
  
Riku nodded and patted Sora's head, smirking. "Yup, thanks to Sora I am. But now he's the one with a cold."   
  
Sora snorted but sneezed again. "I'm..not sick." He insisted, glaring half-heartedly. He was actually behaving exactly like Riku, neither of them ever wanted to admit that they were sick.   
  
"About Kairi and Wakka..." Tidus interrupted, making everyone listen up.  
  
Riku narrowed his eyes, remembering his duel with Wakka and how he lost, and subconsciously clenched his fist. He hated losing. "Yeah, why did that idiot attack my Riku?" Sora asked, pouting slightly.   
  
Selphie grinned. "*Your* Riku? Awww cute!" she giggled.  
  
Sora shrugged and Riku shook his head as he rolled his eyes. "Just tell me, what's wrong with Wakka?"   
  
Tidus nodded and explained what he had been hearing while following Wakka to Kairi's house.  
  
"I'm not sure what exactly happened but Wakka thinks that you two are the 'bad guys'. Kairi obviously told him her version of the story, you know, you stealing her boyfriend and everything. Wakka seems to believe everything she says and wants revenge or something." He paused, again mentally sighing at Wakka's credulity.   
  
"Besides he has a crush on Kairi and will do anything to get her to fall in love with him!" Selphie threw in, again bouncing around, dragging Tidus with her since he tried to hold her down.  
  
Sora and Riku exchanged a look and shrugged.   
  
"I don't know what you think, but I don't really care about all of this." Riku said, surprising everyone. "I mean, if we just ignore them, nothing's going to happen, right?"  
  
Sora frowned. Somehow Riku was right, what else should they do but ignore them? They didn't know anything else and as long as they didn't tag along with them, nothing was going to happen. Maybe Kairi would even get bored with making their life hell on earth and give up after some time.  
  
"NO WAY!" Selphie shrieked, her hands on her hips. "Don't you guys get that this is a serious situation?! They hurt you, both Kairi AND Wakka! Do you want more to happen? I know Kairi and I know that she wouldn't stop just because you ignore her." She was looking serious, really serious. Maybe she was right, she had been Kairi's best friend for some time, after all.   
  
Tidus looked at Riku and Sora who didn't say anything. Then he decided to state what he was thinking.  
  
"I think, first, we should get Wakka back."  
  
Riku and Sora both looked at him, kind of surprised, but nodded. Riku wasn't mad at Wakka, well maybe a little bit, but that was no reason to hate him and make him an outcast or anything. And he was Tidus' friend, so...  
  
"And then we throw Kairi over a cliff!" Selphie squealed, bouncing around in the background.  
  
Sora frowned and wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Um...why do you want Wakka back?" He didn't hate Wakka, alright, but he had hurt Riku and therefore Sora was a little upset with him. Why shouldn't they just let him stay with Kairi and see how long *he* lasted with that crazy girl.  
  
Tidus saw the slightly annoyed and confused expression on Sora's face but decided to say what was on his mind.  
  
"Wakka's my friend, he's been for a long time. I don't want to lose our friendship just because of that thing between you. Technically we have nothing to do with it. So if I tell Wakka your side of the story, maybe he'll think about it and stay out of it."  
  
"And then we let the sharks eat Kairi!" ...Selphie in the background....  
  
Riku nodded. "...Good, Tidus, you tell Wakka the truth and then we see what we'll do about--"  
  
"We'll have her work as a slave and tie her to a tree so she---"  
  
"WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP?!" Riku yelled, placing both of his hands on Selphie's shoulder to prevent her from jumping. He glared at her while she just looked at him, her big green eyes looking as innocent as possible.  
  
Sora sighed and crossed his arms. "Riku's right. Why do you want to do those things to Kairi, anyway? I thought you were friends."  
  
Selphie grabbed Riku's hands and shoved them down from her shoulders.  
  
"She is my friend! Or she was...I don't know! But what do you want? What do you expect me to do? I feel sorry for her, I really do, but you're my friends too and since you don't seem to realize what she could do...." She sighed. Bouncing around and planning evil counter attacks was so much more fun that feeling sorry and trying to be reasonable.   
  
Tidus went over and lay a hand on her shoulder. "We all feel kind of sorry, I guess. It's not all Kairi's fault... But let us talk to Wakka first, then we'll see what he thinks, okay?"  
  
Selphie shrugged, suddenly the total opposite of the girl she was before.  
  
"You talk to Wakka...I don't feel so well anymore..." She muttered and strolled off, leaving the three boys a little surprised. Selphie had never been like this.  
  
"So..." Tidus began.  
  
"So...." Sora replied, just as lost as Tidus.  
  
"So..." Riku began as well, smirking at Tidus. "How far are you with Selphie? Anything interesting, huh?"   
  
Sora looked at Riku in total confusion and Tidus stared at the ground, shrugging slightly. Riku smirked and nodded knowingly. Since Selphie was the first one to know and like Sora and Riku being together, Riku also started to be curious about Selphie and Tidus. It would be interesting to see them get together, imagining that rubber ball with crybaby Tidus. The perfect couple... Riku smirked  
  
~~  
  
Wakka had left Kairi's house long time ago and was playing around with his Blitzball. He was smiling all the time, feeling extremely good since Kairi had hugged him. It was great that she was finally paying attention to him.   
  
"Wakka!" Tidus came running, and waved at him. Wakka smiled and waved back. Tidus was still his friend, he had even cheered for him during the duel. Thankfully he wasn't with those traitors Riku, Sora and Selphie.   
  
Tidus approached, panting after he'd been running the whole time and smiled.  
  
"How about a game?" He asked. Wakka beamed and nodded. They still preferred playing Blitzball to training, probably the reason for Tidus lack of skill while fighting the others. Wakka had the advantage that playing Blitzball was practically also fighting-training for him unlike for Tidus.  
  
While they played, Tidus used the chance to ask Wakka some things.  
  
"About that thing between the rest of us..." he began. Wakka was thankfully in a good mood and too caught up in showing off his new tricks that he answered everything easily. Tidus asked him what exactly Kairi had told him and started to tell Riku's and Sora's version. Wakka didn't seem to mind and he continued until everything was told.  
  
"...what do you think?" Tidus asked, wondering if Wakka had really listened to everything.  
  
Wakka smiled and threw the ball over to Tidus, letting him show a few tricks too. The older boy sat down and watched Tidus play, scratching his head while doing so.  
  
"Actually I already thought about that." Wakka answered, sighing a little. He wasn't that dumb. After he had beaten Riku he started to think about the whole story, about what those two felt and about what Selphie did. They were all friends, this was just a little argument that was being hyped by everyone to make it worse than it was.  
  
"Everyone's acting like the world is going to end or something, ya. But don't you think this is ridiculous? I'm not mad at anyone anymore, I have been while fighting Riku, but after thinking about it, this is nothing be so mad about."   
  
Tidus was surprised and stopped playing around, listening carefully.  
  
"But I'm still on Kairi's side, ya? If no one's going to be her friend, I will be. And I think she doesn't mind. So technically...everything's fine, ya!" He smiled, seemingly proud of his conclusion.  
  
Tidus just stared in confusion. What Wakka said actually made some sense. Somehow they *were* over dramatizing everything a little bit.  
  
"You're right..." He murmured in awe.  
  
Wakka grinned and nodded proudly. "See? Everything's fine. As long as I'm with Kairi she's happy and we're all happy!" Especially *he* was happy since he finally got the chance to get closer to his crush.  
  
Tidus smiled and decided to go and tell everyone. Wakka was a genius.  
  
~~  
  
It was evening and everyone met at the beach. It was more of a coincidence since no one expected Kairi and Wakka wanting to meet the others.   
  
Sora and Riku had been making out *the whole day* somewhere Tidus couldn't find them and Selphie had been missing since the morning, so Tidus had no chance of telling anyone what Wakka said.  
  
Kairi and Wakka were both laughing and Kairi seemed to be really happy.   
  
Selphie was sitting in the sand, watching them with a smile, an almost knowing smile. Sora and Riku were kind of clueless about what was going on and walked over to Kairi and Wakka while Tidus just stood there, watching them.  
  
"Hey..." Sora began, looking at Kairi.  
  
Kairi turned to him and smiled as she greeted both of them. "Hi there! Funny how we all meet here, huh? How are you two?"   
  
Sora's eyes widened in confusion and he sneezed lightly before Riku put an arm around him, almost as if wanting to protect him from whatever Kairi was planning.  
  
"We're doing fine. How about you?" He asked, not quite sure what to think of Kairi's sudden sweetness.  
  
She smiled at Wakka and then turned back to the couple. "Sora, Riku, I'm sorry for what I did, okay? Just forget it. I'm still a little mad at you, but let's just forget it, please?"   
  
Riku and Sora both stared wide-eyed in disbelief and Tidus frowned slightly. What had Wakka done to her? Maybe she *was* happy when she was with him but this seemed a little suspicious.  
  
"Umm..o~kay..." Sora stuttered, still too confused to say anything else.  
  
Kairi nodded and waved them off, turning back to Wakka.  
  
"Good. And now, if you would please leave us alone, Wakka is going to teach me how to play Blitzball!" she nonchalantly said. The next second she and Wakka were talking and laughing, Wakka showing her some tricks while she tried them herself.   
  
Sora and Riku stood there for a little longer and exchanged a look before shrugging and walking over to where Selphie was sitting.  
  
When Kairi ran off to get the ball back, Tidus quickly ran over to Wakka, asking him what he had done to her. He shrugged and said that she already was like that when he came back after their conversation. Tidus was now really confused, as well as Sora and Riku and decided to go to them. He noticed the strange look on Selphie's face.  
  
"That was...weird, wasn't it?" Riku said, looking at Sora who nodded. "Yeah...."  
  
Tidus came over and agreed, sitting down with them.  
  
"You don't seem surprised, Selphie." He said, looking at her.  
  
The girl smiled and shrugged. "Just be happy! Kairi won't ever say anything against you two."   
  
"What did you do?" Tidus suspiciously asked.   
  
Selphie shrugged again, looking as innocent as she could. "I let her hang down from a cliff." She answered as if it was the most common thing in the world.  
  
"WHAT?!" The three boys exclaimed.  
  
Selphie rolled her eyes and put her hands up in defence. "It was an accident, I swear! We met at the cliff, you know that one near the cave we once found. Well, she slipped and I caught her just before she fell over. While I was holding onto her hand we talked through things and I told her to leave you alone and I told her about Wakka. Every time she tried to argue I threatened to let her go. Well, after some time she agreed and I pulled her up. Happy End!" Selphie exclaimed, bouncing happily.  
  
Sora looked kind of scared and backed away from Selphie.   
  
The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I would have never let her go, you think I'd really kill her?!"   
  
The boys shook their heads, not because they were thinking she wouldn't but because they were afraid of what she might do if they did anything to upset her.  
  
"I think Kairi's going to fall in love with Wakka, isn't that super?" she asked, smiling happily.   
  
"Yeah..." Sora and Riku muttered, still a little afraid of her.  
  
"Yay! Everything's perfect! Sora and Riku are together, Kairi and Wakka are together and Tidus and I are together!" She squealed in delight.  
  
Tidus' eyes widened and his cheeks got a little pink. "We..We're together?" He shyly asked.  
  
Selphie flashed him a blinding grin and nodded, before hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "Of course! What did you think?! You even stayed over night with me!" Tidus flushed a little embarrassed but smiled and put his arm around her. "Cool.."  
  
Sora smiled and Riku grabbed his chin to kiss his boyfriend, ignoring the squeals of Selphie and the catcalls of Tidus.  
  
And somewhere near the water, Kairi and Wakka were smiling at each other, Wakka taking Kairi's arms to guide her movements with the Blitzball before Kairi sighed and leaned against him, smiling at the other kids. This was indeed something people would call 'Happy Ending'.  
  
~The End?~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Naaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh this *sooo* not the last chapter! After I ended this I kept getting hate-mail and stuff, people begging me to continue LOL. So I continued. Have fun, this is not the end ^_^ 


	17. And it goes on

Author's Ranting: Eehhh.... okay last chapter was not the end LOL  
  
Sorry! I've gotten emails and reviews saying that the ending was too rushed and after reading it again I have to admit that it kinda sucked. So, yeah, I decided to write more! yayness..  
  
I wanted to make a sequel but then I thought...why not just add the chapters here? Cause the storyline is still the same and uh... ah whatever!  
  
So here's Chapter 17! (I kinda feel like warming up old stories but oh well..)  
  
~~~  
  
"Isn't it weird?" Riku asked as he and Sora lay together in the sand, the moonlight lightening the beach.   
  
"What do you mean?" Sora muttered, already half-asleep. It's been two weeks since Kairi had forgiven them and was currently getting closer to Wakka. Selphie said that they would be a cute couple but everyone knew that they just *couldn't* be a couple. They didn't match. Not at all. Even Tidus could see that. Fine, so Wakka had a crush on her, but Kairi couldn't possibly like Wakka, she was just not the type of girl that would fall for a boy like him. Everyone knew this, especially Riku. He knew Kairi very well.  
  
Riku rolled over to lie on his stomach and looked over at Sora who was lying beside him, his half-lidded eyes gazing at the stars. Seeing his love in this position Riku couldn't resist to reach out his hand and let his fingers dance on Sora's stomach. The younger boy twitched a little startled at the touch and chuckled as he felt Riku's fingers run up and down his abdomen. Sora sighed contently and closed his eyes. Riku smiled and leaned over to kiss him tenderly and nuzzled his cheek before he pulled away to sit up.  
  
"Something bothering you?" Sora bemusedly asked as he cracked on eye open to look at his silver-haired friend.   
  
The older boy shrugged and turned to look at the sky. "Not really. I'm just wondering if Wakka knows that Kairi's only playing with him."  
  
Sora's eyes immediately went open and he sat up, fully awake. "What?"  
  
Riku raised his eyebrows at the brunette and looked at him a little surprised. "Don't tell me you didn't know. It's obvious that Kairi has absolutely no interest in him." He suddenly frowned, as if remembering something. "Could it be that she's just planning something to separate us again?"   
  
Sora was silent and looked down at the sand. Would Kairi do something like that? Didn't she say that everything was alright again? So Kairi had done some stupid things in the past, but that was all forgiven and forgotten now. Everyone was happy, so why suspect Kairi to do something evil again?  
  
"I think you're just paranoid, Riku." Sora answered, smirking slightly as Riku turned to glare at him. "You're worrying too much...why don't you just forget it?" Sora purred, crawling closer to his love to caress his cheek. He loved the feeling of Riku's soft skin, it looked and felt so perfect. Just touching it made him feel content and Riku was more than hypnotized by Sora's hands.   
  
"Maybe you're right..." Riku breathed as he felt Sora's hands roaming over his chest. Making out seemed like a good idea to forget Kairi, and the night just began so they had plenty of time.....  
  
Riku smirked as he pushed Sora down on the sand, claiming his mouth while his hands started to unbutton Sora's shirt. Why did wear shirts with buttons? He shouldn't wear those things...in Riku's mind he shouldn't wear anything...  
  
Sora chuckled as Riku cursed, unable to unbutton the last bit of the shirt. Then he leaned up to kiss him, making Riku's eyes roll into the back of his head. The rest of the night was spent in pure bliss...  
  
~~~  
  
When the sun hit Sora's face, he let out a groan and threw his arms over his eyes. He then heard a chuckle and remembered that he and Riku were still lying on the beach.  
  
"Whoops.." He muttered, removing his arm, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"   
  
Riku looked really relaxed and shrugged slightly. Last night was great and today he couldn't care less about anything. Sora noticed the strange look on Riku's face and pouted slightly.   
  
"You look like you're high." He stated, crossing his arms as he sat up.  
  
Riku let out a laugh and grinned foolishly at Sora. Gods, he was in love. So head over heels in love that he felt all giddy inside when he looked at Sora. And spending a romantic night on the beach with his love was more than enough to make him totally high, it was better than any drug.  
  
"Have you been smoking anything?!" Sora inquired, raising one eyebrow at Riku.  
  
The silver-haired shook his head and continued to grin, noting, once again, how absolutely adorable his little Sora was. He wanted to worship him, build a huge shrine for him and pray to him like he was God.  
  
"Do you know how much I love you?" He said with a big grin.  
  
Sora wrinkled his nose in total confusion. Riku had to be high or drunk. "Um..."   
  
The older boy grabbed Sora's shoulders and kissed him passionately to show him that he was *not* high but *very* in love.   
  
[click]  
  
The boys were startled by a clicking sound and pulled away to look who was disturbing them.  
  
Selphie. And a camera.  
  
"Awww that was perfect!" she squealed, smiling brightly in her usual mood. Tidus was not far behind, strolling after her with some kind of a defeated look.  
  
"Selphie, try to be careful with my new camera..." he quietly murmured as he tucked on her arm.  
  
Sora and Riku just stared as Selphie bounced around rambling something about 'Happy Moments of Love' or something like that...  
  
Tidus just rolled his eyes and shook his head at Sora and Riku.  
  
Suddenly Riku remembered what he had been thinking about last night, before Sora had *seduced* him, not that he complained. But he remembered being worried about Wakka and Kairi. He somehow felt that Kairi wasn't going to give up like this, it was too much of a cliché or whatever one might call that. It was just wrong. Kairi couldn't turn from evil bitch to nice and understanding friend. Riku was sure that she just gave up for a while because she was scared of Selphie, everyone would be.  
  
"Hey Selphie." He grabbed the girl's arm to stop her from bouncing. Sora was expecting him to be mad at her for photographing them while kissing but Riku was going to say something else.  
  
"What do you think about that Kairi-Wakka thing?" He blurted out, waiting for Tidus or Selphie to respond.  
  
Sora just rolled his eyes, uneasy with the fact that Riku still didn't trust Kairi. They were all friends again, weren't they?   
  
"They don't match." Tidus nonchalantly stated and Selphie shrugged.   
  
The silver-haired turned to Sora with an victorious smirk and Sora smacked his forehead, before crossing his arms.  
  
"Fine, fine, so they don't match. But that doesn't mean that Kairi is still trying to get us separated." Sora pouted. Kairi had been his friend for a long time and she had also been his girlfriend, so he still cared about her and about what others thought of her, especially now that they were friends again. It wasn't fair that all of them pretended as though she was evil. She was not.  
  
Selphie put her finger to her chin and frowned, trying to think. Tidus watched her with some kind of expectation.  
  
Then Selphie shrugged, smiling brightly. "As far as I know she's not planning anything except for her and Wakka to climb that mountain-thingy...she said that there's a beautiful view and she wants to have a romantic day."  
  
"Girls..." Tidus muttered as he saw Selphie dreaming away into her romantic world.   
  
This time it was Sora's turn to look victorious but that didn't change anything in Riku's thoughts. He didn't trust Kairi. It was nothing he was thinking but more what he was feeling, and his feelings never failed him.   
  
"Anyway I'm going to take some photos of me and Tidus and then some of Wakka and Kairi and theeeen I'll come back to you two! Cause you're the sweetest couple ever and we need you for our "Happy Moments of Love" Album!" The brunette girl practically jumped and squealed with every word she uttered. Tidus somehow wondered how he was able to put up with her. But she was cute, especially now, when she suddenly looked at him with her big green eyes, using her puppy-look.  
  
"Come on, Tidus, let's go take some pics! Please, please, please, pretty please?"   
  
Tidus smiled and nodded. They both waved at Riku and Sora before running off somewhere.   
  
"I think I'll go home to change my clothes." Sora suddenly said, yawning heartily.   
  
Riku frowned and bit his lip. "Can I come, too?" He then asked.  
  
Sora was a little surprised and raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend. "Why? I'm just going home, I'll be right back."  
  
Riku looked away, a little embarrassed and Sora smiled at the faint blush on his cheek. "What?" He asked in an amused way.  
  
Riku grunted and crossed his arms. "Nothing."   
  
Sora grinned and reached out to stroke Riku's pale cheek. "You're paranoid, Riku. Nothing's going to break us apart and you know that."  
  
Riku shrugged and continued to look away. Why did his intuition tell him that there was something going to happen? This feeling wouldn't leave him, no matter how often Sora reassured him. Kairi just had to be planning something evil and as soon as Riku left Sora's side, if only for one split of a second, it could all end. Kairi was powerful and clever, almost like an insane doctor.   
  
"Now you're really exaggerating." Sora muttered.  
  
Riku blinked as he realized that he had been talking aloud instead of thinking in his head.   
  
"Oh...um...sorry..." he muttered his apologies and shook his head. He knew that Sora still liked Kairi no matter what she had done. Riku had liked her too but that was long time ago. And he never really liked her that much because she had been the reason he and Sora drifted apart.... He didn't want to lose his Sora - again.  
  
When Riku noticed that Sora was walking past him to leave he clenched his fists. He knew how ridiculous it was but he just didn't want to leave Sora.  
  
"Can I come anyway?" He asked as he closed his eyes as Sora was behind him, awaiting the 'NO'.  
  
The brunette, however, chuckled and went to embrace Riku from behind, sliding his arms around the silver-haired boy's waist, rubbing the abdomen with his fingers.   
  
"I'll make you..." He purred and Riku blinked a little shocked.  
  
He spun around and stared wide eyes at his cute little innocent Sora - who didn't seem to be that innocent anymore.   
  
Sora tried to keep his new behaviour but soon lost it and turned into the adorable little boy again, smiling sheepishly with his tongue stuck out.  
  
"Where did you learn that from?" Riku suspiciously asked.   
  
Sora's big blue eyes blinked at him with all innocence one could have. "What do you mean?"   
  
Riku shook his head and leaned in to kiss Sora's nose. "Nothing."   
  
Sora pouted slightly and rubbed the spot Riku had kissed. Then he stuck out his tongue again and turned to leave. Riku waited for a while, until Sora had taken the second step he rushed to his side and took his hand.  
  
Sora smiled and they walked to Sora's home.  
  
~~  
  
"You're getting better, ya?" Wakka smiled at Kairi who was holding her own Blitzball.   
  
"Yeah, and it's fun! I'm glad you're teaching me." She smiled sweetly before taking Wakka's hand. The boy raised his eyebrows.  
  
"You like me, don't you?" She shyly asked. Wakka was a little taken aback and found himself nodding.   
  
Kairi giggled in that sweet-like-chocolate way and sighed. "I like you, too. And...people who like each other help each other, right?"  
  
Wakka found himself nodding again, unaware of the fact that he was blushing slightly.   
  
"Good." Kairi said. "You've been so nice when you fought Riku that time. You did it just for my sake and I want to thank you for that." she paused, giving Wakka an almost hypnotizing smile.   
  
"And if you could help me again...I will reward you."   
  
She was acting like she was talking to a dog. But Wakka didn't seem to realize or mind, he just nodded at everything she said, hypnotized by the smile she was giving him.  
  
"We have to keep Riku busy for at least a week. We'll keep him so busy that he will have not one single minute alone with Sora. Of course we must make it look like Riku is avoiding Sora, but the main part is about keeping Riku away from him. Do you understand?"  
  
Wakka frowned, remembering that they'd actually made peace with everyone. So why start with this again? Didn't she say that it was ok that Riku and Sora were together?  
  
"This is really, really, really important for me. You will help me, right?"   
  
Kairi used all of her sweetness and girlish helplessness to make Wakka fall for the bait immediately.   
  
"I'll help you, ya."   
  
"Thanks!" She cheered and hugged Wakka, who was blushing again.   
  
"You're welcome..." he murmured.  
  
What had he gotten into? He had nothing against Sora and Riku.... but he would do anything for Kairi.  
  
~~~  
  
Somewhere in the bushes, Selphie had made photos of Kairi and Wakka and heard everything.  
  
"Uh-oh." She was in-between again. Again!   
  
Maybe she should act like she'd never heard it. Right, she had nothing to do with it, she didn't want to be stuck between two sides again. But could she let Kairi do that?   
  
"What're you doing in the bushes?" Tidus whispered.   
  
Selphie jumped slightly and turned around. "Nothing..." Selphie whispered back and they left the for some other place. Tidus noticed the sudden change in Selphie's behaviour and frowned.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: how did you like it? I'm gonna continue this, yay! Kairi is so evil I think I might have to kill her for real at the end of this story! I'm not sure what's going to happen next and if there's going to be any real interesting plot since it feels like warming up some old stuff but oh well...  
  
the end of chapter 16 was really kinda rushed, I know, so maybe I'll drag everything a little out to make it seem better?  
  
I dunno. Anywayz R&R please! I wanna know if this is ok or if I should really stop this story now. 


	18. Magic Spell?

Author's Ranting: oh yes I love this story! LOL ...no, really, this is actually one of my favourite stories, I mean in writing the story... I really like writing this story.   
  
So it kinda feels good to continue it ^^ I also have some ideas again so there's gonna be a storyline YAY!  
  
anywayz, thanks for the reviews, you're all so so so so so nice and I love you all for reading this! I hope you have fun with this chapter too!  
  
~~~  
  
Riku followed Sora to his house, looking around every other second as if paranoid. Sora just rolled his eyes but found himself smiling as he watched the silver-haired boy. He always liked that partly annoyed, partly cautious expression. It made him look cute.  
  
"You're planning to watch me changing or what?" Sora asked with a grin as Riku followed him into his room in some kind of a trance. The silver-haired snapped out of his daze and gave Sora a look.   
  
"Oh." Sora innocently answered. Riku crossed his arms, still somewhat upset about the fact that no one shared his opinion on Kairi, and nodded Sora to start 'stripping'.  
  
The younger boy blushed furiously and hesitated before taking off his shirt. It wasn't like Riku hadn't watched him before but it felt embarrassing to stand there and strip while Riku's gaze was steady on him.   
  
"Um..Riku.." Sora murmured, a little uneasy. The silver-haired teen's eyes narrowed and he suddenly punched the wall with his fist, grunting angrily.  
  
"You're all so naive! So oblivious!" He growled, frowning deeply.  
  
Sora looked a little taken aback by Riku's anger and quickly changed the rest of his clothes before walking over to Riku, hesitantly reaching to calm him. Riku didn't react and just stood there, glaring at the ground.   
  
"Why can't you just leave her alone? She hasn't done anything yet...." Sora quietly said, afraid that he'd only make the silver-haired angrier. Surprisingly Riku's expression softened and he attempted to smile a little. He then took the hand that was placed on his arm to calm him and gently took it into his hand, stroking the back of Sora's slender hand with his thumb. Sora's cheeks turned a little pink and he smiled in that adorable way of his. Riku couldn't resist and quickly pulled his boyfriend into a hug, wrapping his arms around his waist to pull him close. Sora's face nuzzled into Riku's shoulder and Riku tugged Sora's head under his chin. They stood like this for a moment, Sora letting his fingers dance on Riku's back while Riku let one of his hands ran through Sora's brown hair, the other hand resting on his hip.  
  
"I'm going to talk to her."   
  
Riku muttered, suddenly pulling away from their embrace.   
  
Sora who was first surprised started to frown and curled his lips to a pout. Riku must have really hated Kairi, he thought.   
  
"Don't wait for me. I'll probably have a *long* talk with her..." Riku growled as he glared at somewhere, anywhere. He was scowling and glaring and Sora was clever enough to leave it as that and not interfere with Riku's anger or whatever that was.  
  
"Ok..." He simply answered though his voice held a lot more than just that. It was a silent beg, the last beg, to forget about Kairi - but it didn't work.  
  
The next moment Riku was stalking out of the room, and out of the house.  
  
The time Sora heard the door slam shut, Riku was gone.   
  
~~~  
  
"You go and ask Riku to spar, ok? When I come back I want him to be exhausted so we can go for a walk on the beach. We have to make it look as though Riku is cheating on Sora, with me."  
  
Kairi's evil plans were getting more and more ridiculous, and still they seemed to be planned out with great care. She had spent a lot of time thinking about her plan while playing Blitzball with Wakka. Now that she had the redhead on her side, nothing could go wrong. Because unlike a certain brunette in a yellow dress, Wakka was *loyal*.   
  
"Why don't we just leave them alone, ya?" Wakka tried to argue but Kairi immediately glared daggers at him. Wakka blinked surprised and Kairi noticed, instantly turning back into the sweet girl Wakka knew.   
  
"Please, don't ask. Just do it, for me? Please?" Her eyes turned big and watery, not in Selphie's cute way but in that girlish 'I'm-so-sweet-and-helpless'-look. Wakka, of course, couldn't resist that special move and gave in, nodding once.  
  
Just in that moment, Riku came striding towards Kairi, looking awfully pissed.   
  
"Kairi. We need to talk."  
  
Wakka took that as his cue to ask him for sparring and stepped between his 'mistress' and the 'victim'.  
  
"How about sparring first, ya?" He asked in his usual cheerful tone though there was a hint of hostility. Even if he had nothing against Riku in person, Kairi's will was strong enough to be his motivation for his feelings.   
  
Riku pushed past the redhead with a nonchalant gesture and turned his attention back to Kairi. "Let's go somewhere to talk."  
  
Wakka frowned and looked at his mistress, seeing her nodding at him.   
  
"Of course, Riku." She softly replied. Wakka nodded at her, almost looking like he was bowing and strolled away to leave the two alone.  
  
When Kairi watched Wakka disappear she turned to face Riku, smiling warmly at him.  
  
"How are you and Sora doing? Everything alright? You know that he's birthday is coming in three days, maybe you want to do something special this year?" She was being the nice and gentle Kairi everyone knew and Riku's thoughts almost faltered. Would this sweet girl really do something evil like forcefully separating the couple? The couple that had been her best friends? Riku couldn't help but think 'Yes, she would.'  
  
Riku felt a warm hand on his and blinked at Kairi as she gently took his hand, lightly tugging to move him forward. He was surprised and stumbled forward, following her wherever she wanted to go.   
  
They started to go for a walk on the beach, Riku looking at Kairi with narrowed eyes while Kairi smiled sweetly. 'She's so sweet...' Riku thought and frowned. Kairi was like a fairy or something, she was the perfect girl. The girl that all the girls wanted to be. Pretty, nice, gentle, even intelligent and she had that something that gave her the image of the 'perfect girl'.  
  
"It's so peaceful." Kairi sighed contently as she leaned on Riku's arm and the silver-haired jerked slightly in surprise. All of his thoughts went flying randomly in his head, confusing him even more than he already was. Was Kairi showing some kind of affection to him? In...*that* way? But why? Wasn't she planning to make him and Sora break up? Or was this all just to make them break up? Then it clicked. Of course, Kairi was acting, to make it look like he was cheating on Sora. That evil.....  
  
"Riku..." Kairi shyly murmured and suddenly yelped as she stumbled over a rock on the ground, clinging to Riku's strong arm for support.   
  
Riku felt something pass between them as Kairi was clutching to him, her face close to his chest. She then looked up, Riku looked down.  
  
Before Riku knew what was happening, Kairi straightened herself, purposefully brushing her lips against Riku's in the progress.  
  
"Oh-whoops...um...sorry..." she shyly mumbled and turned away.   
  
Riku was dumbfounded and stared incredulously. Kairi had just kissed him. *Kissed* him. So, fine, it wasn't a big deal since it was just a brushing of lips...maybe just an accident. But Kairi *was* acting weird. Was it all just an act? Somehow, Riku didn't understand what was going on in Kairi. She was so unpredictable. Maybe like a genius with a crazed mind. And that scared Riku.  
  
Kairi sighed and slumped her shoulders forward. "Well, I think I'll better go now... Oh, and if you want, I could show you that place Wakka and I found. It's so romantic, I bet Sora likes it, too. So for his birthday, you could go there. And I make sure that no one disturbs you." She smiled, again, warmly and went to hug Riku before turning around to leave.  
  
"See ya!" She softly called and ran away.  
  
All Riku could do was stare, blink and stare, even when Kairi was already gone.  
  
~~~  
  
"Selph, what's wrong? Why're you acting so strange?" Tidus inquired, trying to peer at his girlfriend's face.   
  
The brunette had an uncharacteristic scowl on her face and was sitting on a rock with her arms crossed. "Nothing." She barked out, pouting and scowling at the same time. She was thinking, thinking of what to do. Should she ignore what she'd heard or tell Riku and Sora? Maybe she had misunderstood everything and was just messing up the friendship if she told them. Because sitting in the bushes with a clicking sound of the camera in the background wasn't the best way to hear everything clearly. Actually, she'd only heard some bits and parts of what Kairi and Wakka said, so she couldn't even be sure....  
  
"But you're acting weird. Wanna laugh with me again?" Tidus offered, trying to cheer the brunette up.  
  
Selphie's head snapped up and her eyes glared, which was very unusual for the girl. Tidus was almost frightened by the look on her face and backed a little away.   
  
"But--"  
  
"You know what?! Just leave me alone!" Selphie angrily snapped and bounced off to stomp away.   
  
Tidus, who was just in the middle of saying something watched Selphie with a horrified look, his lips trembling.   
  
They had been a couple for two weeks and they already got into a big fight? Wasn't that supposed to come a little later? Tidus was mortified - what would he do without Selphie?   
  
"Selphie wait!" He cried, running after her in an attempt to make up with her. He couldn't let her be angry with him, they had to clear this.  
  
Somehow Selphie managed to shake off Tidus and the blonde found himself lost between trees as he looked around in search for his girlfriend.  
  
"Selphie..." he murmured, silently trying to think of a way to make up.   
  
~~~  
  
Riku had recovered from the slight shock after Kairi kissed him and made his way back to his home. He had told Sora not to wait for him so he would just go home and take a shower. He felt dirty since Kairi touched him. Fine, so it was a little exaggerating to feel dirty only because she took his hand but he couldn't help but feel like this. Something was wrong, it was so wrong.   
  
Muttering to himself, he opened the door to his house, making his way into his room to strip his clothes, not bothering to look at anything. He kept cursing and muttering something incoherently and pulled the shirt over his head, taking if off quickly. When he started tugging on his pants button he noticed someone's presence. He narrowed his eyes and spun around only to find big blue eyes looking at him.  
  
Sora. Was sitting on his bed. With a huge Popsicle in his mouth. Looking like a small kitten. His big baby blue eyes watching him, urging him to go on.   
  
Riku continued to take off his pants and socks until he was only in his boxer shorts and stalked into the bathroom.  
  
Sora remained on the bed, eating his Popsicle.   
  
A few minutes later Riku came out again, dripping wet and cursing like there was no tomorrow. Sora's eyes widened a bit as he noticed that Riku was wearing his birthday suite - meaning that he didn't even had a towel around his waist or anything.  
  
He continued to devour his ice as well as the sight in front of him as Riku let out another string of curse, muttering something about 'vanishing towels'.   
  
When Riku finally found a towel to cover himself, he rummaged around to find some clothes. His room wasn't as messy as Sora's so he had no problem in finding his clothes. They were all neatly placed in his closet.   
  
All the time he was being watched by Sora and he could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.   
  
"Stop watching me while sucking on that thing." He growled, obviously pissed.  
  
Sora looked puzzled as he bit down on the Popsicle, chewing the coldness in his mouth.   
  
Riku sighed and narrowed his eyes at Sora. "What are you doing here anyway?"   
  
Sora swallowed the ice and shrugged, thrusting his lower lip forward to make a pout. "I was waiting for you."   
  
Riku didn't react or show in any way that he had acknowledged the statement and put on his clothes before plopping down on his chair in front of the desk.  
  
There was a time of silence when Riku just stared at the floor. The only sound was Sora's tongue sucking the ice in his mouth and swallowing it.   
  
Riku turned in his chair to lean his arms on the backrest and rested his head on his arms. His scowl had turned into a sulking expression, making him look unusually cute.   
  
Sora noticed and watched Riku sulk. 'How cute..' Sora thought with a smile and finished his ice before climbing off the bed to walk over to the silver-haired.  
  
"You look so cute." He said with a grin.   
  
Riku raised his gaze at Sora, only to glare half-heartedly and then let his gaze fall back down to the ground.  
  
Sora frowned and put his hands to his hips. "Still mad cause nobody believes you about Kairi?"   
  
Riku winced at the question, remembering what Kairi had done. She was acting totally weird. She was more than off and there just had to be something behind it. Or not? He honestly didn't know, because with Kairi you never knew. She was just impossible to predict.  
  
"Riku!" Sora pouted, but Riku turned away, sulking like a little boy. Both were standing there in their stubbornness. The one pouting, the other one sulking. Both looking extremely cute.  
  
After some time Sora lowered his head and Riku raised his gaze in interest.   
  
When Sora's snapped back up he had a huge grin on his face, surprising Riku immensely. "Cheeeeeeese!" He grinned, reaching to stretch Riku's mouth.  
  
The silver-haired let his mouth be dragged around until Sora let go, frowning again.  
  
"What's wrong?" he worriedly asked.   
  
Riku sighed and shook his head, gesturing Sora to come sit in his lap. Sora gladly obeyed and snaked his arms around Riku to pull his face down and brush their lips. The same way Kairi had done it, and Riku inwardly winced at the memory.   
  
"Love you..." Riku murmured into Sora's ear and the brunette smiled, making Riku feel guilty. Though it had been Kairi who kissed him, so that he wasn't at fault, Riku felt like he had cheated on Sora.  
  
What had Kairi done to him....?  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: wowowowowow what is Kairi doing to Riku??? Some kind of magic spell?? Could it be that Kairi turned into an evil witch/sorceress and Wakka's the knight?! Well, we'll see what the hell is going on as soon as I get the next chapter up, ne?  
  
until then, read and review please ^__^ 


	19. BigFatCowWithWarts

Author's Ranting: after writing two Weiss Kreuz ficcies I returned to my Next Lesson! And here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!  
  
I had some kind of writer's block, you know I had the idea in my mind but couldn't write it down, so it's a little shorter than the other chapters.... I hope it's still ok! Well, have fun!  
  
~~~  
  
Sora was sitting in Riku's lap, purring contently as he felt Riku running circles on his back. Riku, however, was everything but content. He had a guilty conscience because of what happened between him and Kairi but on the other hand he was also mad at Kairi. How could she dare to do that to him, no one was supposed to kiss him, except for his Sora. No matter what she was thinking and planning, Kairi had definitely gone too far already.  
  
Sora knew that something was wrong with Riku but he didn't know how to find out what was bothering him. Riku's hands went down to Sora's waist and his arms wrapped around him, pulling him as close as possible. Sora had to smile and snuggled up against his boyfriend. It sure had some good things when Riku was being like this, even if he was sulking and didn't want to talk, at least he was being absolutely tender and sweet.   
  
"Kairi and I kissed..." Riku suddenly murmured against Sora's hair, trying to make his voice disappear in the silky brown mass.  
  
Sora didn't move or show any sign if acknowledgement and Riku frowned. Both were still for awhile and nothing was audible except for their breathing.  
  
"Sora?"  
  
Riku frowned even more as he felt Sora tremble slightly, his hands had left Riku's back and formed fists.   
  
"...are you mad?"   
  
Riku quietly asked, afraid to let go off Sora for he already felt guilty enough to make him believe Sora could leave him once he was free.  
  
Another long pause where both of them were still and silent.   
  
Then Sora's trembling stopped and he pulled a little away, facing Riku with a smile.  
  
"I am." He stated, still smiling.   
  
Riku frowned and opened his mouth to explain - even though he didn't know how to.  
  
But Sora shook his head and reached out to brush the silver bangs out of his face to place a kiss on Riku's forehead.   
  
"But not at you."   
  
Riku blinked and sat there, a little dumbfounded. This wasn't the reaction he had expected, but it was a lot better than he had ever hoped. Sora wasn't angry with him, he didn't feel cheated on. Riku felt like smiling, all of his guilt gone now that he knew Sora didn't see any guilt. But then he stopped, remembering Kairi. Now that the guilty conscience was gone, his anger at Kairi was even stronger than before.   
  
"Kairi..." Riku growled.  
  
Sora's hand came up to Riku's neck, stroking it with the back of his fingernails and kissed the spot he'd stroked, cutting Riku off before he could say anything. Riku's eyes fluttered close as he nibbled a little on the soft flesh and wandered up to the ear, whispering, "She'll pay for doing this to *my* Riku..."  
  
Riku's eyes went open again and stared at the wall in front of him as Sora proceeded kissing him. When had his innocent little Sora turned into such a seductive nymph? He could still remember the day he gave Sora the 'Kissing Lesson', the brunette had been so naive and innocent and their kiss was so sweet. But it changed. Somehow Sora had become more mature. And a lot more seductive.   
  
Suddenly Sora pulled away, his lips forming his trademark pout.   
  
Riku came out of his thoughts and raised one eyebrow, silently asking him why he stopped.  
  
Sora crossed his arms and drew his brows together. That mixture of frown and pout indicating that he was thinking. Oh, there he was again, his sweet and innocent little Sora. Riku mentally chuckled. Every time he wondered about Sora being seductive, he immediately turned back to the little boy he had been. Which was rather cute.  
  
"You know what?" Sora suddenly said, looking up at Riku with a determined look.  
  
Riku shrugged, waiting for him to continue. And he did.  
  
"Kairi's a....a...." He suddenly went silent again and drew his brows further together, seemingly thinking harder.  
  
"She's a...."   
  
...still thinking...  
  
"Kairi's a...."  
  
Riku almost laughed as Sora tried hard to find a word to describe what he was thinking. Sora looked so absolutely adorable when he was sitting like that, thinking so hard that one could almost hear the little wheels inside his brain.  
  
"A BIG FAT COW WITH WARTS!"  
  
Riku blinked.   
  
"...big...fat...cow...with...warts...?" he incredulously asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.  
  
Sora immediately turned some deep shade of red and looked down to hide his blush.   
  
"...couldn't think of anything else....." He quietly muttered, totally embarrassed.  
  
Riku burst into laughter and pulled Sora into a hug, both of their bodies shaking through Riku's laughter. Although Sora felt as though Riku was laughing at him, he was still happy that Riku was laughing again and not sulking. He liked hearing Riku laugh.  
  
After the silver-haired calmed down he pulled away and smirked.  
  
"It fits her so perfectly."   
  
Sora's eyes lit up and he grinned happily. Riku smirked and shook his head before leaning in to bump forehead with Sora.  
  
"How about we play evil, too?" He had a mischievous smirk on his face and Sora could only mimic it.  
  
They were going to have some fun torturing the big-fat-cow-with-warts.  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile Kairi had gone back to her home and had lain down in her bed. She somehow felt a little strange after what happened with Riku.   
  
'I never planned on kissing him...' She frowned, folding her arms behind her head. She had taken a shower and was only wearing a light t-shirt and a mini-skirt now, the weather was nice and she felt so light and pure. It was so strange, the feeling inside her made her giddy and she wondered why she was feeling so happy all of the sudden.  
  
There wasn't any anger or jealousy, only this strange feeling of lightness and happiness.   
  
She sighed and turned on her stereo with the remote control and close her eyes as the music started. Her mind drifted off as soon as her eyes were closed and she started daydreaming....  
  
~  
  
She was sitting beside him and he had put his arm around her, pulling her close. Her heart was beating faster than before and she felt herself blushing a little. But it felt so right. She didn't dare to look up, into his face, because she knew that she would only blush more. When his hand took hers and started running his index finger over her arm she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.   
  
"You're beautiful."  
  
Kairi's eyes opened again and she stared into a beautiful ocean of green-blue, almost turquoise. The shining orbs were so mesmerizing and the silver strands that hung in his face looked so bright. And then it hit her.  
  
"Riku?!"   
  
Her eyes nearly bulged out and she screamed  
  
~  
  
Kairi's eyes snapped open and she rushed up into a sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and noticed that she was sitting on her bed, and that the music was still playing. Just a dream, just a stupid dream...  
  
She shuddered and shook her head. It didn't make sense. She hated Riku and Sora, especially Riku. This dream must have been a mistake in her brain or something.  
  
Something mixed up and now she was dreaming of Riku. There was no other way. She shuddered again. It was frightening. In a way...she couldn't find the hate against Riku in her anymore. She searched through everything but she couldn't find it. Instead the image of him, looking at her half in shock after she kissed him flashed before her eyes. His eyes, his hair, his face....  
  
Kairi grabbed her hair and pulled on it, screaming as loud as she could.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku decided to ask Selphie and Tidus for help. However, they were only able to find Tidus sitting on the beach with Wakka. Selphie was no where in sight.  
  
"Hey." Riku greeted the boys and Wakka nodded. Tidus didn't react.  
  
Riku really had nothing against Wakka, nothing personal that is, so there was no reason to be unfriendly as long as Kairi wasn't around.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sora asked and sat down next to Tidus who just stared at the ground.  
  
Wakka decided to answer and rolled his eyes. "He's having troubles with Selphie, ya? They had a fight."  
  
Sora blinked, trying to imagine Selphie and Tidus having a fight. It was weird, he couldn't imagine it. Selphie was always so cheerful and hyper, and Tidus did everything to put up with her, so what reason could there have been?  
  
Tidus sighed and hung his head. "I don't know what I did. But she hates me..." He sobbed.  
  
Riku shook his head and waved him off. "Girls. She's probably just PMSing."   
  
Sora wanted to laugh but then he turned to see who was standing behind Riku and stopped. Tidus and Wakka stared.  
  
Riku raised his eyebrows. "What?"  
  
Sora shrugged and pointed over Riku's shoulder. The silver-haired turned around and winced.   
  
"Oh. Hi. Selphie."   
  
Selphie glared at him and eventually walked past him to shove Sora away so she could sit next to Tidus.  
  
She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "Okay. Listen. I'm only saying this once so don't miss it: I'M SORRY. I overreacted and it was all just because of that bitch Kairi. Yes, I overheard her conversation with Wakka and I was so mad that I just let it out on you. I'm sorry."  
  
There she sat, arms crossed, expression hard and concentrated.  
  
Tidus looked up at her with watery eyes and stared for a while. Selphie did it too.  
  
"Okay..." Tidus murmured.   
  
And then he smiled. "It's okay as long as we're alright again." He said now more confidently and smiled brightly.  
  
Selphie's expression changed immediately and in no time she was back to her normal hyper self, bouncing up and down while holding Tidus's hands.  
  
Sora and Riku shook their heads and Wakka chuckled. So that problem was solved.  
  
Suddenly Sora yelped. He'd almost forgotten about the reason they looked for the others.  
  
"Selphie, you mentioned that you don't..uh..like Kairi, right?"  
  
Selphie nodded.  
  
"Am I right to say that we all don't like Kairi?"  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
Sora smirked. "Then let's have her suffer."  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Oooooh what's wrong with Kairi?? What's up with that dream and feeling? And what are Sora and the others going to do to her?? Stay tuned for the next chapter! ^_^ 


	20. Make Her Go Insane!

Author's Ranting: Um hey! Sorry sorry sorry for that little confusion about why Wakka doesn't like Kairi!! I actually wanted to post this chapter soon enough so no one would wonder but I couldn't get around to write it.  
  
But I hope this chapter will explain why even *he* doesn't like her. He's not dumb, and she's just manipulating him, you know... so, read and enjoy! ^-^  
  
oh and hey...I'm trying this TidusxWakka and SelphiexKairi thing..well...kind of...ah whatever, you'll see! ^_~   
  
~~~  
  
"Am I right to say that we all don't like Kairi?"  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
Sora smirked. "Then let's have her suffer."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Selphie suddenly squealed, placing her hands on her hips. "I heard you and Kairi talking! Since when don't *you* like her?!" She demanded, pointing her index finger at Wakka. Riku and Sora nodded as they realized how weird it was but Tidus shook his head.  
  
"He's found out that Kairi's just using him."  
  
Wakka sighed and smacked his forehead. "I don't know what to think, ya? Whenever I see her it's like I can't think at all. But when she's not around I know that she's doing the wrong thing, ya?"  
  
He looked over at Riku and gave him a meaningful look. Sora blinked and looked back and forth between Wakka and Riku. They had this habit to talk without talking, almost as if they could read each other's mind. And it made Sora a little jealous, since it was said that only lovers could do that. Without realizing he started to pout and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at Riku.  
  
After a time of silence Riku sighed and shrugged. "What's done is done. She kissed me, alright. But I won't let her get away like that."   
  
"KISSED YOU?!" Selphie squeaked, staring in disbelief. As she looked at all the non-surprised faces she frowned in confusion. "Wait a minute, you all knew it? How come I'm the only one who doesn't know a thing about all this?!" She made an adorable face and started tugging on Tidus's arm, asking him why she missed all the interesting things.  
  
Tidus ignored the fact that she was nearly ripping off his sleeve while pulling on it and patted her head, telling her how he knew about all this.  
  
"When you ran away I went to look for you and I met up with Wakka. He was upset about something, slamming his ball against a tree and then he told me that he'd seen Kairi kissing Riku."   
  
Wakka nodded and frowned. "She wanted to make it look like Riku's cheating on Sora. But I don't like that idea..." he murmured, frowning even more. When he was with Kairi he thought that he would do everything for her but now he almost felt disgusted with her. Her intentions and her whole behaviour were disgusting. The only thing that made him waver and not hate Kairi was the image of her sweet smile in his mind. She was so nice and sweet, or at least she looked like it. He sighed. It was a dilemma. Why did Kairi have to be the total opposite of how he saw her?  
  
Tidus told Selphie what else she'd missed and after a while she put her finger to her chin, thinking. She wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes in concentration while Tidus watched her expectantly. Wakka had his head in hands and mourned over his dilemma.  
  
And Sora and Riku?  
  
"Mmm Riku..." Sora sighed as the silver-haired rolled his tongue around Sora's delicate earlobe.   
  
While their friends talked and thought about unimportant stuff they could have so much more fun... Riku continued to nibble on the ear and bit down occasionally, Sora reached out blindly as his eyes were closed, and pulled Riku close to him, moaning as their bodies touched. He pulled Riku's face to his lips and they started kissing.  
  
All of that, in front of their friends.  
  
Though no one noticed since they were all busy. When Selphie had though over everything she jumped up, her fist raised in the air.   
  
"I'll let her hang down from the cliff again!" She squealed, grinning like a madman. Tidus raised his eyebrows and Wakka looked up from his pondering.   
  
The only ones who didn't react where Sora and Riku who were currently sharing lazy kisses and licking each other.  
  
"Mmnnh!" Sora yelped as Riku licked his cheek.  
  
Tidus turned his head to look over at them and smacked his forehead, muttering, "Can't you ever stop? Always kissing and *licking* each other..."  
  
"I remember seeing that episode on discovery channel where the bunnies were licking each other...." Selphie merely added.  
  
Tidus blinked at Selphie and then turned back to Riku and Sora, nodding once. "Yeah. See, you're like animals."  
  
The two boys' ears perked up and they pulled away, both blushing slightly for they had totally forgotten that they were around other people. Sora looked down and smiled sheepishly, trying hard to force his hands away from Riku. Riku just glared though he was wearing a smirk and crossed his arms. "We're just in love, okay? Besides, why don't you ever kiss Selphie? I thought you were together?"  
  
Tidus immediately went beet red and Selphie grinned, bouncing around like a hyperactive bunny on speed. Tidus was still so shy when it came to those things, Riku knew it - and took advantage of that.   
  
In the middle of all this, Wakka was still thinking about his problem with Kairi. On the one hand he really liked her...but on the other hand, he never wanted to see her face again. Somehow he had to make himself see that the Kairi he knew wasn't the girl here. The Kairi he saw in his mind was what he wanted her to be, not what she really was. But it was harder than said.   
  
"Didn't we want to let Kairi suffer?" Tidus suddenly asked, desperately trying to divert the attention from himself.   
  
Selphie stopped in mid-bounce, and Sora and Riku stopped their lovey-dovey behaviour.   
  
"Right." Sora answered. He looked over at Riku who was wearing a really mischievous smirk and gestured him to go on with their plan. Wakka forced himself to listen.  
  
"Now...we've come up with a plan to scare Kairi. We don't really wanna torture her in any way, just try something...and we thought it would be fun."  
  
He looked over to Selphie and his smirk turned into an amused grin. "Selphie, we ask you for your special help."  
  
The brunette girl raised her eyebrows and immediately nodded without knowing what she was going to do.  
  
"Okay then. Here's the plan: Selphie, you act as if you have a crush on Kairi. Follow her around and make her belief that you're totally in love with her."  
  
Tidus jumped up and stared wide-eyed. "WHAT?! Why does Selphie have to do that?!" He yelled, obviously upset with the fact that *his* girlfriend had to pretend she was in love with another girl.  
  
Selphie, however, seemed interested. "Oh...and what do you think will happen when I do that?" She asked Riku. The silver-haired chuckled.   
  
"She'll get annoyed. Besides, I think she won't like the idea of a *girl* falling in love with her, she's not that type of girl. Kairi is just waiting for her prince on the white horse, she doesn't see that there are other things." He paused and looked over to Sora, smiling at him.   
  
Tidus was still pouting and very upset that Selphie was actually interested.   
  
"Okies. I'll scare her good." Selphie grinned, not bothered at all with her role.  
  
Then Riku turned to Tidus and Wakka. "You'll have to do something, too. Since Selphie's in love with Kairi, you two have to be a couple, too. Or else she'd get suspicious because Selphie was with Tidus. If we tell her that you broke up because of Wakka...."  
  
Wakka and Tidus gaped.   
  
Fine, so they were friends. So they were really open-minded. BUT PRENTENDING TO BE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER?!  
  
They exchanged a few looks, both having a horrid expression in their eyes before both violently shook their heads.  
  
"NO WAY!" They yelled in unison and Selphie giggled. "Oooh already doing things in unison, that's so sweet!"   
  
Tidus nearly started bawling as he saw that his girlfriend had no problems with what they had to do. She almost seemed as if she enjoyed this situation.   
  
Wakka crossed his arms and looked away. "No way I'm doing this, ya! No offense, Tidus."  
  
Tidus snorted and crossed his arms, too. "Yeah, I won't do that, either! Though I really like you, Wakka."  
  
Sora and Riku just grinned.  
  
~~~  
  
One hour later, Tidus and Wakka were walking *hand in hand* along the beach, practicing their role for Kairi.   
  
Selphie was sitting with Sora and Riku, watching the hilarious scene before them. After a while the girl turned to them with a curious expression.  
  
"Say...how did you come up with that idea? And how come you don't have to do anything at all?"   
  
Sora scratched his head and shrugged. "Actually...I saw that on TV." He grinned and Riku shook his head with a smile.  
  
"Yeah. Sora said there was this show when that girl went crazy because all of her friends turned gay."  
  
"That girl was *so* Kairi! I'm sure she'll react exactly the same way!" Sora happily exclaimed, moving closer to cuddle with Riku. Riku smiled as he felt Sora snuggle up to him and kissed his hair lovingly. Their relationship was changing from day to day. On some days they would stay in bed all day, doing -fun things- while on the next day they would go out for some sparring and beat the hell out of each other. And then there were those days when they were like the perfect couple next door with all that lovey-dovey behaviour. Today was one of those days. At this moment, all Riku could see was Sora and he looked so beautiful.  
  
Selphie watched them with a smile and then turned to look at Wakka and Tidus again. They were both still shuddering from holding hands and had decided to stop practicing for a while, starting to play Blitzball.   
  
"Hey boys!" Selphie shouted over to them just when Tidus was about to make his special move. He stopped in mid-air and turned to look at Selphie, not realizing that he was going to fall flat on his face if he kept looking at her.  
  
Bam.  
  
Wakka started laughing as well as Selphie and Tidus sobbed, rubbing his red face that had just met the hard ground. He was still such a crybaby...  
  
Selphie grinned and ran over to him, helping him up.   
  
"Don't you wanna practice some more?" She asked, pulling Tidus and Wakka together in such a fast movement that they almost stumbled into each other's arms.   
  
Tidus turned red again. "You like that so much?!!" He shouted, trying to get away but Selphie was holding him in a death grip.  
  
Her expression turned from grinning to looking very serious, making her look a little scary since it was quite unusual for her. "We're doing this to teach Kairi a lesson. We're doing this for Sora and Riku, so they can finally be at ease, without a bugging jealous bigfatcowwithwarts after them."  
  
If she hadn't said bigfatcowwithwarts Tidus would have almost been really scared of her. But that word made him burst into laughter which had Selphie following.   
  
After they'd calmed a little Tidus heaved a long sigh and nodded hesitantly. "Fine...I'll do it. I won't complain anymore..."  
  
Wakka sighed, too and scratched his head a little, feeling awkward.   
  
"Yay! And now kiss your Wakka!" Selphie squealed, shoving Tidus right into Wakka, their faces only one inch away, lips almost touching.  
  
[click]  
  
Magically, Selphie had pulled out her camera, taking a quick snapshot of the two boys in their almost-kissing.  
  
Sora and Riku burst into hysterics at Tidus' and Wakka's shocked expressions and Sora started rolling on the ground, shaking with laughter.  
  
Riku couldn't stop laughing and coincidentally rolled directly onto Sora, their noses suddenly touching. Both stopped laughing in an instant, staring a startled at each other before both leaned in, attempting to kiss - but both burst into hysterics again.  
  
After that Riku pulled Sora into a hug and they continued to laugh, looking like one shaking mass.   
  
Selphie took the opportunity to take another snapshot and giggled happily while Tidus and Wakka were both yelling at her.  
  
~  
  
And somewhere, farther away, Kairi was still lying in her bed, eyes wide in horror. "No. Stop. Stop. Stop thinking of him. Stop." Kairi chanted, clutching to her bed sheets. "Stop thinking of him. Stop thinking of Riku!" She yelled at herself, pounding against her head to make his face go away. To make his glistening aqua eyes go away. His perfectly shaped face. His silky silver hair.   
  
"Stop!!"   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: hmm... can't think of anything to say here! ^^' maybe...something like... REVIEW PLEASE?? heheh.. but since you ALWAYS do that, I don't even have to ask anymore, do I? So yeah, nothing to say, just hope you liked this chapter! 


	21. Sweetness pt II

Author's Ranting: whee a nice plotless sappy chapter! oh wait, there is *some* plot but it's kinda like a sidestory.... lots of fluff, sap and kawaiiness ^-^ I hope I haven't made any mistakes that could lead to confusion (not that this story is in any way confusing but) I'm really stressed at the moment and just wrote this chapter out of...of...uuhh I just needed to write something cute! Okies, hope you enjoy! next chapter will have plot, I promise ^^  
  
~~~  
  
The day had ended rather quickly since Tidus and Wakka had been busy practicing while Selphie annoyed the hell out of them. Sora and Riku nearly died from all the laughing, so all in all, this day had been great.   
  
Now it was night and Sora was lying in his bed, looking out of the window. It was full moon and the night was clear, without any clouds. He smiled and rolled over to lie on his stomach, letting his arms drop down from each side of the bed, his chin resting on his pillow. Tomorrow would be so fun, he thought. Everyone acting totally weird, Tidus and Wakka together, Selphie chasing Kairi...Sora started laughing from the mere thought of it. The funniest thing though, was that Selphie seemed to be really into it, he hadn't thought that he would get so much support for his plan.   
  
"Knock knock."   
  
Sora chuckled as he heard the voice outside, in front of his window.   
  
"Who's there?" He playfully asked, trying to sound annoyed but failed as his voice held far too much amusement.  
  
"The Lord of Darkness!" The voice outside growled, actually sounding really dangerous but eventually failed just like Sora as a chuckle was audible.  
  
Sora rolled over again to sit up and put his finger to his chin. "Hmmm....I dun want no bad Lords of Darkness in my room. Go away!" He grinned and started snickering when he heard Riku groan.   
  
"Oh come o~on! Lemme in!" Riku whined. "I promise to be a good Lord of Darkness!"   
  
Sora chuckled and refused to open the door. "Nope! My mommy always told me--" but he was cut off by Riku yelling in frustration,   
  
"Pleaaaase! I can't sleep when you're not with me! I'm going to look like a zombie if I don't get my beauty sleep, you know!"  
  
Sora snickered again and jumped up to open the door. As he swung it open, Riku was standing there, arms crossed, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Ha! Now I have you! You've let me in, now you're mine!" Riku said, and pushed them back in, kicking the door shut with his foot. Sora was grinning the whole time. Though he had been really tired before and just wanted to sleep, he was still happy that Riku had come here. The had spent a lot of nights together lately, and Sora was getting used to having someone beside him. No matter how tired he was, he would always feel lonely without Riku.  
  
"So...." Riku purred, pushing Sora down onto the bed, before leaning down to capture his lips. Sora enjoyed every single moment of what Riku was doing and simply let him continue, titling his head to one side to expose his soft flesh of his throat, inviting Riku to taste it while his own hands wrapped around Riku's waist to pull him close, crushing his body down to his own.  
  
Riku landed on top of Sora, almost crushing him with his weight and started to roam his hands through Sora's hair, loving the way the silky strands surrounded his fingers. While his hands massaged Sora's scalp, Riku kissed Sora over and over again, on the lips, on his cheek, on his forehead, simply everywhere.   
  
Sora loved every moment of it but somehow, in the back of his mind, he started thinking. Somehow it felt different from the other times Riku and he were together. Riku was different. But in a good way. Sora let out a sigh of pleasure as he thought he would burn up, because he felt every spot Riku had kissed burning in a pleasuring way. Riku's touches were so addictive, his caress so loving.  
  
And then it ended. Riku pulled away.  
  
Sora opened his eyes, first realizing that he had closed them, and stared at Riku with a mixture of disappointment and confusion.   
  
Riku's eyes were blazing down on him, freezing him in place. Then, Riku pulled something out of the bag he had brought. Sora blinked. He had brought a bag? Why didn't he notice before?   
  
His mind went blank immediately when his eyes fell on the thing Riku had brought.   
  
'No way...' He thought, eyes wide in surprise.   
  
Riku looked a little awkward, fidgeting with the star-shaped fruit in his hand. A Paopu fruit.   
  
"Um..." He began, starting to get nervous, which was actually really unlike Riku.   
  
Sora stared at Riku's hands. This was a Paopu fruit. It was *the* Paopu fruit. The one that held the legend about...  
  
"I know it's just a legend, but I want...our destinies to be entwined!" Riku rushed the last bit of the sentence, holding the fruit towards Sora while squeezing his eyes shut as if waiting for a blow.  
  
Sora's heart was pounding faster than ever and he almost thought it would jump out of his chest if it kept pounding like that. What should he do? Riku wanted...Even if it was just a legend, the meaning of this was simply... Sora couldn't describe his feeling. He loved Riku and he knew that Riku loved him, too. But this...Riku wanting to share a Paopu fruit...this was even *more* than just love, and Sora was so overwhelmed by it that he couldn't do anything but simply stare.  
  
As Riku didn't hear any response he opened his eyes again and looked at Sora, almost a little defeated.   
  
"Don't you...want to share...?" He shakily asked. Riku was fully aware of what he was doing right now and he would understand if Sora was scared. Love and being together was one thing, but entwining their destinies...  
  
Sora took the star-shaped fruit, broke it in half, and handed one half to Riku.  
  
Then he smiled.  
  
Riku blinked and it took him awhile to realize that Sora had just accepted - and his heart jumped into his throat.   
  
Looking into each other's eyes they lifted the fruit up to their mouth in unison. Even their hearts were beating in unison in this moment and then, both opened their mouth, still looking into each other's eyes, pushed the fruit in, chewed - and swallowed.   
  
For a while, both of them sat like a stone, motionless, only doing the most necessary thing like breathing. There was nothing but the waves from the outside audible, the waves of the ocean playing in the wind. Riku and Sora just sat there, staring at each other.  
  
"...do you feel different?"   
  
Riku suddenly asked, moving again and, a little frown on his forehead.   
  
Sora started moving too and scratched his head. "Um...I feel...sick." He grimaced and held his stomach. Riku nodded and stuck his tongue out.   
  
"Me too... that...that fruit tastes like crap!" He exclaimed, emphasizing the word 'crap'.   
  
Sora started throwing a tantrum like a 4-year old and whined about his stomachache. Riku watched him with a sorry expression, he'd been the one who had the idea. 'Me and my stupid ideas...' He thought to himself, but eventually started grinning when he saw Sora's childish behaviour.   
  
His grin broadened with every second until he couldn't hold back anymore and started to laugh.  
  
Sora immediately stopped his whining and looked up at his laughing friend, starting to grin too. Soon, they were both laughing endlessly, lost in the stupidity of this situation.   
  
After a while they finally calmed and Riku sighed.   
  
"Man, sorry for this...if I had known about the taste..."  
  
Sora giggled and threw his arms around Riku, surprising the silver-haired. "H-huh?" He couldn't even ask what Sora was doing since the younger boy started attacking his lips with his own. Sora was almost hyperactive and really energetic...all of that because he was happy.  
  
"This is the best thing that ever happened." Sora whispered after pulling away from Riku only to take his arms and wrap them around himself, his back leaning against Riku's chest. He shifted a little so that he could see Riku when he titled his head up and smiled contently at him.  
  
They remained in this position for some time and fell silent, listening to the sound of the waves outside. Riku's right hand was resting on Sora's stomach while the other one caressed him in a soothing motion.  
  
"Kairi was your first love, wasn't she?" Riku suddenly asked, breaking the silence.  
  
Sora 'hmm'ed and eventually nodded. "Yeah..."   
  
He had a huge crush on her ever since he first saw her and Riku had always been there to support Sora with his worries about Kairi. The last time was the kissing lesson...  
  
"But that was before I knew I could have you..." Sora shifted to face Riku and nuzzled into him, spoiling his love with butterfly kisses of his sweet lips. Riku kissed back, his strong arms cradling Sora in a tight embrace. Tight but tender. They leaned in and bumped their foreheads, both chuckling slightly before kissing again, and Riku's hand found its way into Sora's hair again, running through them gently.  
  
"I love you." Riku whispered between kisses.  
  
"I love you more." Sora whispered back, knowing exactly how incredibly sappy this sounded but, hell, he worshipped Riku. Kairi had been his first love, alright, she's been his first crush, his first experience with love. But Riku...being with Riku was different. He didn't have to prove anything to anyone, not like the time when he had been with Kairi. He always had to beat Riku to show Kairi that he was worth her time. And he had to give her presents all the times, girls liked those things a lot, he figured. It was tiring for a nearly 15-year old boy to be a girl's lapdog. Nearly 15... Sora suddenly remembered that his birthday was approaching, in fact it was coming in two days. And then it hit him.  
  
"Riku..." He began, wrinkling his nose. "Could it be that this Paopu fruit was my birthday present?"   
  
Riku stopped kissing him and looked at him a little dazed. "Uh..." He'd been totally lost in feeling Sora and his eyes were narrowed, just like he'd just been woken from a dream.  
  
Sora noticed that absolutely adorable expression Riku was now wearing and 'aww'ed happily before placing a light kiss on Riku's nose - only to make him look even more adorable when he wrinkled his nose. Riku was sure cute sometimes, Sora thought and chuckled.   
  
They continued to lie together, Sora contently cuddling with Riku, and their hands moved together, linking fingers.   
  
"You really love cuddling, don't you?" Riku teased after a while.  
  
Sora made a funny noise and lightly punched the silver-haired boy's arm before cuddling even more. Oh yes, he loved cuddling with Riku.  
  
~~~  
  
Morning. Selphie was fully awake and ready for her mission. Yes, she took it very seriously, almost as if she was the chosen one to bring peace to this island...or something like that.   
  
Bouncing around, she played with her hair and made them into two pigtails, grinning happily as she saw herself in the mirror. Not long after that, Tidus knocked on her door, looking horrified.   
  
"Hey Tidus! What's up?" She happily asked, throwing her stuffies around while looking for something.  
  
"I...I..I..." Tidus seemed frightened and he was obviously unable to speak coherently.   
  
"Yeah?" Selphie chirped, still making a mess out of her room, not succeeding in finding whatever she was looking for.  
  
"I..had this horrible...dream..." Tidus stammered, shuddering at the memory of his dream. The perky brunette immediately turned her attention to her boyfriend and raised her eyebrow.   
  
"About what?"   
  
Tidus blushed a little and twiddled his thumbs. He felt a little embarrassed to tell her about his nightmare. He wasn't supposed to be a crybaby...  
  
"It's ok, Tidus. I love you even if you're a cry-baby." Selphie giggled and bounced over to the boy, peering at his face.   
  
Tidus blushed even more and sighed, shaking his head. "I dreamed that I was married to Wakka...." He grimaced and shuddered again.   
  
Selphie blinked. And burst out into laughter.  
  
"You what??" she squealed, laughing so that her pigtails were bouncing with her shaking head.   
  
Tidus frowned and pouted, crossing his arms. "Selph, that's really not funny. It was scary. You should have seen that....." He trailed off, too disgusted to continue talking.  
  
Selphie snickered and patted Tidus's back. "Oh come on, Wakka's a nice guy. And don't worry, you won't have to marry him. You're mine." She smiled brightly, placing a short kiss on his cheek.   
  
Tidus heaved a long, over dramatized sigh and eventually nodded. Selphie smiled.  
  
"Hey." Tidus suddenly said, looking at his girlfriend as though she was from Mars.   
  
"What? Something on my face?" She asked with raised eyebrows.   
  
A smile made its way to Tidus' lips and he shook his head, reaching out to lightly pull on one of Selphie's pigtail. "You look really cute with those pigtails." He said.   
  
Selphie squealed in delight and started hopping around, singing something like "Tidus thinks I'm cuuu~~uute!"   
  
This day was going to be so great!  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Selphie with pigtails...cute, ne? I think she'd look cute... And Sora cuddling with Riku is sooo cute, too! *sighs dreamily* I had this dream about Riku and Sora (yes I'm obsessed) and they were sooo cute! hehe... okies, enough rambling, review if you like and stay tuned for the next chappy! ^_^ 


	22. Gay Island! Kairi's freaking out!

** IMPORTANT: **okay...this is really really important and I want everyone to read it... THANK YOU! yes, I want to thank you, the readers and reviewers. I want to thank you straight from my heart because I'm really touched. This whole story, Kissing Lesson and Next Lesson started out as a little fic, my first Kingdom Hearts one, my first serious fic. I was very self-concious for I had just started to write stories... but all of you, who read this and reviewed, encouraged me, you really gave me strength and made me feel good. I don't know if it means anything to you guys but I am really grateful that you're out there. It's really a great feeling for me to know that somewhere some people are reading what I write and they like it.  
Someone once said it seems as though I'm just writing for the reviews.... but that's not true. I am writing for the people who review, or don't review. I write for all my readers and I want to please them all with my fic. That's why I'm writing. I want to make others happy with it. And YES I know it sounds absolutely corny... But it's true. I just wanted to say that all of you have really influenced me and I don't know where I would be without you. Thank you. And I will try to continue this story as long as I can, not for the reviews I get but for everyone who wants to read this story. 

Yours,   
FrozenLioness

Author's Ranting: errmm okay now that I've thanked you all I can ramble some nonsense, right? Hmm actually there's not much to say to this chapter I think...maybe that I listened to Tatu's Ya Soshla S Uma while writing. But that actually has nothing to do with it... ah well, just read this chapter, I hope you like it ^^ 

  
~~~~ 

  
"Good Moooorning!" Selphie sang as she knocked on Kairi's door. 

A few minutes later the girl opened the door, looking a little out of it. "Huh? What..do you want?" 

Selphie immediately changed into shy-girl-with-a-crush-mode and fidgeted with the little box she was holding in her hands, staring at the ground with a sweet and shy smile. 

"Uh...I just have a present for you..." She looked up and handed the little box to Kairi, smiling brightly. 

Kairi took the box and opened it to find a note. "What's this?" 

Selphie shrugged. "Read it. Oh and under that note there's something else.." She quietly added, forcing herself to blush. Yes, she was able to blush at any time - all she had to do was think of Sora and Riku making out... oh, wait, no, whenever she thought of that she started grinning. No, to blush, she had to think of how cute Tidus was. That was the perfect way to look lovestruck to Kairi. 

"You're the nicest girl I've ever met?" Kairi read the note and blinked at Selphie who was currently looking at the ground, smiling sheepishly with a furious blush on her cheeks. Of course Kairi didn't know that Selphie was off in wonderland, thinking about Tidus. 

Frowning, Kairi put the note aside and looked what was under it. Her eyes stared at the shiny object in the little box. 

"What's..this?" Kairi stared at the shiny object in the box and Selphie tried hard to suppress an evil grin. The shocked expression was just hilarious. 

"It's a hairpin. And I made it for you." 

Kairi gulped. Okay...the note...the hairpin...Selphie looking at her like a... 'Oh. My. God.' Of course there was no evidence and it was totally ridiculous but... Maybe Sora and Riku started to influence her. Ah Sora, her cute little Sora. But he wasn't cute anymore, he had betrayed her. They had been together! And now he was with Riku.... Riku, that arrogant, self-confident, thievish, gorgeous, beautiful...mind blowing... 

"OH GOD!" Kairi shrieked as she realized what she was thinking. 

The total confusion in her mind even increased as she suddenly saw Tidus and Wakka walking up to them. They looked like always but...something...something seemed different. And then it hit her. 

"S e l p h i e . . ." she stammered, her eyes wide in shock. "Why...are...they..." but she couldn't end her sentence for a shocked scream escaped her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut in horror. 

Selphie's eyes widened and a huge grin crept up her lips as she frantically started to search for her camera. This was the most shocking moment ever! 

Tidus and Wakka were KISSING. 

"Tidus! Wakka!" The brunette girl squealed, sounding shocked. For Kairi, it sounded as though she was outrageous but in reality she was pleasantly surprised to get a free show. When Kairi turned to her with a blank and pale face, Selphie's expression transformed into disappointed and sad. Not because of Tidus and Wakka but because she couldn't capture this sweet moment for her photo album. That was, however, unknown to Kairi and so she frowned with a mixture of sympathy and confusion in her eyes. 

Tidus and Wakka were standing in front of the girls, looking a little awkward. That hadn't been in their plan, that kiss was something Selphie hadn't expected and now everyone was a little out of concept. 

"Sel--" Tidus began, sounding as if he wanted to apologize but he was actually reminding her of her role. And on cue, Selphie spun around and started running away. Kairi was still utterly confused and blinked a few times at the boys and her friend's shrinking image. 

"You bastards!" She eventually yelled before dashing off to follow Selphie. This was so confusing and maybe she was making a big mistake by trying to cheer up her friend, now that she had this suspicion of Selphie having a crush on her. She shuddered and slowed down a little, her steps falling into a slight jogging as she continued to ponder over the situation. Tidus and Wakka. Wakka and Tidus. Sora and Riku. Riku and Sora. 

Why did Destiny Island suddenly turn into GAY ISLAND?!! 

~~~ 

Meanwhile Tidus and Wakka simultaneously let out a sigh. 

"There, you had your kiss." Tidus murmured, unconsciously blushing. Wakka raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"What do you mean? It was your idea, ya?" 

Tidus's cheeks flared up and he shook his head vigorously, his hair bouncing with the motion. 

"No way! You wanted to know what it's like to kiss another boy!" 

Wakka started blushing too and both stared at their feet for a while. Though neither of them wanted to admit it, both had agreed to do this. One, because it would shock Kairi and, two, because they were kind of curious. Seeing Sora and Riku really made them wonder if there was any difference between boy and girl.. 

"We sure shocked Kairi, ya?" Wakka suddenly said, successfully changing the embarrassing topic. 

Tidus chuckled and nodded, his hair bouncing up and down again. "Yeah! We even seemed to have surprised Selphie. I bet she'll be proud of me for pulling a show like this." Tidus beamed for he already knew his girlfriend very well. He knew exactly that Selphie was a yaoi-obsessed girl and he knew what he had to do to score. Though he really wondered how their relationship would go on with him pretending to be with Wakka and her hanging out with Kairi. They had to perform this 24/7 to make it believable but what would happen to them? 

Tidus sighed. He already missed Selphie. 

~~~ 

"Selphie?" 

Selphie was hunched over a rock. Kairi slowly walked over to her and crouched down to peer at her face. 

"Hey..." She began, a little unsure of what she should say. Of course she knew what Selphie must have been feeling since it was exactly the same situation she had been living through. Her boyfriend turned her down for his best friend. 

"You know..." Kairi murmured, reaching to pat the other girl's back but stopped as she realized that it could lead to misunderstandings. Selphie was acting weird and now that Tidus and Wakka were kind of together, the possibility of Selphie wanting to get together with her was not to be shut out. Kairi cringed. Yes, she was homophobic. It didn't really bother her when some people were gay, but her friends...the people who were around her everyday. 

"Ne, Kairi..." Selphie murmured, pulling the girl out of her thoughts. 

"Yeah?" She blinked as Selphie straightened herself to stand up. She gave Kairi a smile, pulled down her hairbands, making her pigtails dissolve and ran a hand through her hair. 

"Somehow I'm not that sad about Tidus and Wakka..." Selphie said, shrugging slightly before plopping down beside Kairi who was still crouching on the ground. She took Kairi's arm and hugged it, resting her head on it. "Remember our 'girl-power-trip'?" She quietly asked, seeming so different from the usual Selphie everyone knew. Either Tidus had really hurt her for making her all reserved and quiet or she had something on her mind.... Kairi gulped. She said she wasn't sad about Tidus and she was currently *very* close to her, hugging her arm... 

"Yeah." She didn't want to say anything else. In fact, she was really scared by now. Selphie was sighing and nuzzling into her. 

"I wanted to break up with Tidus all along. He's a crybaby..." She murmured, tightening her arms around Kairi's arm. Kairi sat there, motionless and scared at Selphie's antics, hoping that her arm would somehow fall off. She really liked Selphie but...but the thought of Selphie wanting something more than friendship was simply... horrifying. Sora and Riku were enough. Even Tidus and Wakka had to turn into this. But even Selphie and...and herself?! 

"NO!!" Kairi yelled, quickly covering her mouth as she realized what she had done. Selphie inwardly grinned at Kairi's reaction for she knew exactly what the other girl was thinking, but on the outside she just seemed to ignore Kairi's protest and moved even closer to her, letting go of the arm but wrapping her arms around the immediately shocked girl. 

"Who needs boys..." Selphie continued to murmur, seeming totally absorbed in Kairi. "You've always been my best friend..." Kairi was nearly crying but she couldn't do anything to shake Selphie off. She was too scared and to shocked. 

Desperately trying to find a way out of this, Kairi looked around, hoping to find something that would distract her. Ah, the isle with the Paopu tree. Yes, this would distract her. She just had to stare at the tree and wait for this nightmare to end. But her eyes only widened in horror as she saw Sora and Riku. The silver-haired was currently pushing Sora against the tree and Sora didn't seem to struggle much. If Kairi had been able to cover her eyes she would have done it but Selphie was hugging her so tight that she couldn't move anything. She cursed her good eyesight as Riku began kissing and nipping Sora and jealousy flared up in her. She wasn't jealous of Riku anymore but because of Riku. She wanted Sora to vanish and leave Riku to herself. She wanted Riku for herself. 

"I want to spend all my time with you." Selphie cooed, knowing exaclty that she was scaring the life out of Kairi. The other girl couldn't continue to look at the two boys and turned away, searching for something else to distract her. As her eyes caught two figures sitting together her mind snapped. Tidus and Wakka were sitting together, Tidus was leaning his head on Wakka's shoulder and they were holding hands. Damn that good eyesight. Kairi felt the world starting to spin and felt even more mortified as Selphie's face came closer to her own. 

'Oh no.' She gulped, tears in her eyes. She was so scared that she thought she would die. 

"Noooo!!" She screamed and pushed herself up with the strength of someone who was running for their dear life. She ran so fast that Selphie couldn't even try to hold her back and soon, she was out of sight, probably locked in her room. 

Selphie blinked a few times at the place where Kairi had been just a few moments ago and then started to giggle uncontrollably. Her giggling increased with every second until she was rolling on her floor, shaking with laughter. 

The four boys approached the giggling mass and were all grinning contently. Wakka felt a little sorry for Kairi but it was just too fun to see her freaking out because of him and Tidus being together. Tidus rushed over to Selphie and crouched down to hug her, shaking with her as she continued to laugh. 

"That was so much fun!" Selphie squealed between laughter and Tidus smiled brightly. 

"Yeah." He then narrowed his eyes as if concentrating and decided to do it. Now. 

He grabbed Selphie and kissed her, on the lips, just like Riku always did with Sora. 

Selphie stopped laughing and blinked large green eyes at her boyfriend. "Wow." She breathlessly said. "Were you practicing with Wakka??" 

Tidus opened his mouth to protest but eventually joined Selphie who was already laughing again. 

Wakka shook his head and rolled his eyes. Sora chuckled and felt Riku wrap his arms around his waist, pulling his back to Riku's chest. 

"Think we scared her enough?" Riku purred into Sora's ear before kissing it softly. 

Sora chuckled and pulled a little away, rubbing his ear. "Riku, stop that. It tickles. And..." he gave him a quick kiss, "...we'll stop. For tomorrow, everyone is acting normal again, ok? But the following day we will continue this." 

Riku raised his eyebrows. "Is that actually a clever plan, little one?" 

Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku's mockery. "Yes it is. We will make her think she's lost her mind." He stated, looking confident. Then he smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "That's what happened on TV." 

Selphie giggled and Tidus smiled, happy that his girlfriend was happy and that they could still spend time with each other. Wakka was still a little lost about his feelings for Kairi but decided that he really enjoyed this little play. Being with Tidus wasn't that bad, after all. It was just for show and it was really fun. 

Riku let his hands wander over Sora's abdomen and whispered something into his ear, making the younger boy blush and nod. 

"Well then, we're off! See ya tomorrow." Sora quickly said before dragging Riku towards his house. 

"I really have to find my camera..." Selphie mused and Tidus rolled his eyes. 

~~~ 

It was already past midnight and Riku was with Sora in his room. 

"So...tomorrow's your birthday..." Riku whispered into Sora's ear while playing with his hair. 

Sora was lying on his stomach, his head resting on his arms. Riku was spoiling him with kisses and gentle strokes, smiling contently at the beauty before him. Sora had really matured during the year. 

"Actually it's today. Look at the clock. I was born at 2:20." 

But Riku was too lazy and too weak-minded to tear his eyes away from his beloved Sora and decided to continue devouring his little Sora. The younger boy sighed occasionally and leaned into Riku's touches. 

"Hey Riku." The younger boy suddenly said, shifting a little. 

"Yeah?" Riku lazily replied, busy with other things like kissing his way up on Sora's arm. 

"How about moving together? I mean...we're always either here our at your place. Why...don't we move together?" Sora suddenly rolled over to face Riku, his eyes big and hopeful. Right now, Sora didn't look as mature as Riku thought he was but he looked like the adorable boy he always was. His lower lip was slightly trembling and his stubby nose made him look so cute. 

"Hmm..." Riku rubbed his temple. "If that means that I'll have you beside me whenever I fall asleep and whenever I wake up... Yes, there's nothing I would want more than move together with you." He said with a genuine smile and bent down to nuzzle Sora's nose. The mere thought of having Sora around him all the time made him happy. This would be the last step. First step was finding each other, which they luckily did. Next step was to confess, which they both did too. Then came the thing with the Paopu. They had to deepen their relationship with that. And now, moving into one house, living together like they always wanted. There was nothing more Riku could ever want. 

"I love you." Riku sighed happily. 

Just as Riku wanted to bend down and kiss Sora, the younger boy turned his head to the clock, a huge grin spreading on his face. 

"I'm fifteen!!" 

... 

Riku rubbed his cheek where Sora had unintentionally punched him as he threw his arms in the air to cheer.... 

~Tbc~ 

~~~

  
Ending Notes: Yay Sora's 15!! Hmm Riku's birthday has to be soon too... Cause it wouldn't make sense if they're both 15... So, how did you like that chaos with everyone turning gay?? It was kinda fun to write hehe...anywayz stay tuned for the next chapter, see ya! ^^ 


	23. Ice Cream Fun

Author's Ranting: Hmmm lots of SoraxRiku fluff in this chapter! Not as much plot as I wanted to write but, oh well, saves more for the next chapters, right?  
  
Hope you still like this one....  
  
~~~~  
  
Cold. Freezing Cold.   
  
Sora whimpered as he felt something icy touch his cheek. His eyes snapped open and met up with a pair of green eyes, sparkling with mischief an amusement. Sora squinted, looking quite unpleased and blinked a few times in order to see properly. The room was dark, so it couldn't possibly be morning.   
  
"Did I wake you?" Riku's voice held so much teasing that Sora was almost a little worried. What was his silver-haired angel planning? In the middle of the night...   
  
"What time is it?" Sora asked, trying to see to the clock on the wall. They'd fallen asleep shortly after Sora proclaimed that he was finally fifteen. Or at least he fell asleep. Maybe Riku had stayed up? But wouldn't he be tired then? Somehow Riku looked a little strange.  
  
Then, Sora noticed the coldness on his cheek and attempted to reach and touch the spot that was freezing but Riku quickly stopped him, grabbing his wrist softly. Sora gave Riku a bemused look. He sniffed a bit and noticed that it smelled like raspberries. But before he could utter anything, Riku bent down and kissed the freezing spot before sucking gently on it, warming Sora's soft skin.   
  
"Mmnnh..." Sora's eyes fell shut again and he sighed. Who cared about what time it was or what this smell was? Riku was being very gentle at the moment and Sora's mind already went blank as he felt the maddening touches and kisses.   
  
"Like it?" Riku murmured against the other boy's cheek as his hands went wandering over Sora's body. His hands made their way over the slender figure, lingered for a moment but then decided to reach further to the side, meeting up with something that was standing on the nightstand.   
  
Sora hummed in reply, too far gone to answer verbally. Riku smirked and dipped his fingers into the raspberry-flavoured ice cream that was standing on the nightstand, moving his hand over Sora's other cheek to cover it as well. Right in that moment Sora's eyes snapped open, again surprised by the coldness.  
  
"Riku...what's the meaning of this?" He bemusedly whispered, not really sure whether he was dreaming. Riku put his finger on Sora's lips to silence him, and licked the other cheek, purring while doing so. When he was done, he moved back up and grinned at Sora.   
  
"You wanna know what this is all about?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Sora nodded, still looking bemused.  
  
The silver haired smiled and moved down to brush their lips, letting Sora taste the sweet ice cream on his lips.   
  
"Mmmm..." Sora sighed, pulling Riku close to him, their lips only lingering without any action. Then Sora pushed Riku up a little. "Tastes like raspberries..." He purred, though it was not his intention to sound so seductive. He just got that habit of purring whenever he was close to Riku.   
  
Riku chuckled and shrugged. "Well, my sweet birthday boy," he started playing with Sora's hair, looking rather dazed, almost as if dreaming of something, "you're fifteen now, as you just proclaimed two hours ago..." his smile widened with every second but he also started to look a little embarrassed, "so I thought we might have some fun on your birthday...."  
  
Sora, being pinned down by Riku, closed his eyes and let his head roll to one side, relaxing as if he was sleeping again. Riku watched the younger boy, waiting for any kind of reaction but then noted that his friend was *really* sleeping again.  
  
"Aww dammit..." Riku muttered. He'd really been in the right mood right now and all he wanted was to try some things out... The raspberry ice-cream send his mind wandering and he'd had come up with the idea to use it to play with Sora. But this Sora was currently sleeping like a stone, all the romantic and erotic feeling dead.  
  
Riku heaved a long sigh and got up to put the ice cream back into the freezer, not wanting it to melt into a puddle like he always did when he saw Sora's cute face. He grinned and wondered of Sora's face would stay like that even when they got older. He somehow couldn't imagine Sora to grow old, be a grown up. To him, Sora would always be the cute little boy.  
  
Riku made his way back to the bedroom and climbed into the bed, hovering over Sora. Sora's bed wasn't that big and they didn't have much space when sleeping together in it. But usually they didn't need much space, Sora would be all over Riku or vice versa anyway.  
  
"Riku..." the smaller boy's quiet voice came up.  
  
The silver-haired looked down and smiled softly, loving the way his sleepyhead was murmuring.   
  
"Yes, love?" He answered, leaning down to hear Sora's request.  
  
"Cuddle." Was all Sora said before blindly reaching out his hands to get hold of Riku. The older boy chuckled and wrapped his arms around Sora's waist, pulling him close as they lay entangled. Sora was lying on Riku's chest, his hands loosely around Riku's neck while his face was exactly on that little spot between his throat and his chest, the warm breath tickling Riku's skin. Riku dropped a few kisses on Sora's head while stroking his back up and down.   
  
Sora purred in contentment and moved even closer to Riku, snuggling up with him to cuddle a little more.   
  
"Sora?" Riku whispered. Sora did not respond.  
  
"Oh well..." The silver-haired sighed and decided to go to sleep as well.  
  
~~~  
  
A loud knock woke Riku from his peaceful sleep and he silently cursed as he saw the bright rays of sunlight lightening the room. The knock was audible again and Riku rolled his eyes. Why did people knock on the door when they know exactly that no one's going to open? Everyone on the whole island knew that Sora liked to sleep in, so who would bother to knock here at 8:30 am?  
  
Feeling the boy on his chest move, Riku looked down. Sora was still asleep, unconsciously snuggling up to him. "God, you're so cute." Riku whispered with a smile, almost wanting to kiss his angel but decided not to, as he realized that he might wake him with that. And Sora should sleep as long as he needed to since it was his birthday today. He wouldn't wake him up this time. The person outside, however, continued to knock.   
  
"Shut up already." Riku whispered, wishing that person would hear him and stop. Or maybe he should just get up and open the door?  
  
He tried to move, but Sora's grip seemed to tighten the more he moved. Just like one of those thumbscrews - the more you struggled with it, the tighter it got. After a few times of attempting to get up, Riku gave up and went limp under Sora's body. He lay motionless on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
  
A row of knocks yet again.  
  
"Oh bloody hell!" Riku cursed, jumping out of the bed, not caring about Sora. He was seriously pissed off now. Because if there was one thing he hated, it was annoying people that wouldn't stop knocking on your door. Oh, but wait, it wasn't really his door. It was Sora's door. Never mind.  
  
He glanced back at the boy on the bed, an apologetic look on his face as he saw that Sora was frowning slightly, but still sleeping.   
  
"Sorry." He whispered and stormed out of the room to answer the door. Of course, he'd realized that he was practically naked except for his boxers and ran upstairs again to get his clothes. While all of this happened, the knocking only continued, making Riku go crazy. When he was finally dressed he swung the door open, looking extremely sour.   
  
"What?!" He hissed, glaring at whoever dared to disturb him and Sora.  
  
He then blinked as he saw Kairi standing before him.  
  
"Oh. Hi. Kairi." He blinked again and then yawned. "What's up?"   
  
Kairi looked a little strange, at last Riku thought that, and she was avoiding eye contact, which was really unusual.  
  
"Um...can we go for a walk, please?" She nervously asked. Riku shrugged and closed the door.  
  
"Sure."   
  
~~~  
  
They were walking along the beach and Riku couldn't help but wonder what the girl was thinking. Maybe she wanted to talk about yesterday, about that thing with Selphie.   
  
"I'm not sure but...but...are Wakka and Tidus...somehow together?" She asked, her eyes snapping up to meet Riku's.   
  
Riku raised his eyebrows, remembering the plan and looked at her in confusion. "Wakka and Tidus? Are you kidding?" He smirked and shook his head.  
  
"Just cause me and Sora are in love, it doesn't mean that the whole island is turning gay."   
  
A very strange look crossed Kairi's face and Riku inwardly laughed at this reaction. Yes, the plan was definitely working. Kairi stared for a moment but then dropped her gaze again, looking down at the sand as they continued to walk. There was a time of silence and Riku wondered what else she was thinking about.   
  
"So Selphie and Tidus are still together?" The girl asked after awhile.  
  
"Yeah." Riku casually replied, doing perfect work in confusing Kairi. But not only because of his answers but also because Kairi could feel her heart beat faster and heat was rising into her cheeks. Walking along the beach, with Riku, in the morning. It was...romantic.  
  
The silver-haired watched her as she had a mental fight with herself, her face showing it as it twisted. This was really strange.  
  
Kairi mentally kicked herself for her stupid crush on Riku. There was nothing to like about Riku, N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Not his silky, shining hair. Not his pale, creamy skin. Not his deep aqua eyes. Not his masculine body. Nope, nothing to like. 'Argh....' Kairi growled, suddenly remembering the events of the day before. Everything started to mix together and she got a terrible headache. Somehow this was all so confusing, and her hormones were playing mind games with her.   
  
"I can't take it!" She cried out and turned to run as fast as she could.  
  
Riku blinked a few times before deciding to follow her. Kairi was *really* behaving weird.  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile Sora woke up, finding himself lying in and empty bed. No Riku.   
  
"Riku?" He couldn't keep the sudden panic out of his voice, even though he knew it was ridiculous. It wasn't like Riku was going to get in trouble or anything. He could take care of himself. But then why would he *not* be here? Last night, or rather earlier this morning they had been still together and Riku was holding him tight. So what reason might there be to let Riku abandon Sora?  
  
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Sora decided to first have some breakfast and then go looking for Riku in case he hadn't returned after that.   
  
~~~  
  
"Kairi, hey wait!" Riku followed the girl to the waterfall and grabbed her hand a little to forcefully.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, looking confused.  
  
Kairi was bright red and tried to free herself. "Nothing! Nothing! Go away, leave me alone!"   
  
Riku let go of Kairi and frowned at her. "What? You're almost acting as if you're having a crush on me." Riku said, although it was meant as a joke. But he saw Kairi flinch at the remark and gaped.   
  
"Uh..."   
  
His eyes widened and then narrowed. "Am...Am I misinterpreting this or...?"   
  
Kairi couldn't take it anymore and punched Riku right in the face. "IT'S NOT LIKE I WANT TO HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU!" she shouted before running away again. Riku thought he saw some tears in her eyes and almost felt sorry for her. Almost. She had *punched* him after all! That little.......  
  
He reached to touch his cheekbone, which had almost instantly swelled up. He winced and bit his lip from the pain. It was a stinging pain and he hated it.  
  
When he came back to Sora's house he wondered if Sora was still sleeping. He really felt bad for leaving him like that. He sighed and opened the door, strolling into the kitchen to get something cold for his cheek. It was starting to affect the eye, too.   
  
When he entered the kitchen he saw Sora munching on some pancakes, his lips smeared with syrup, pouting as he saw Riku.   
  
"Where did you go?" He asked in his pouty-little-boy way. Riku lowered his head to hide the swelled up cheek but Sora was able to see it anyway.  
  
"Oh my God what happened?" Sora asked, sounding truly concerned. Riku shook his head and shrugged. He didn't want to tell Sora that *Kairi* had done that to him. Mostly because it was humiliating to admit that this girl had the strength to hit him like that.   
  
After not getting any response, Sora remembered the ice cream Riku had had last night. And he also remembered that cold things were supposed to be good for bruises and the like. He grinned, rushing over to the freezer, getting the bowl of raspberry ice cream out.  
  
Riku slowly let his eyes wander upwards to see what Sora was doing and he blinked. Sora dug into the bowl with his hand, using it like a soon and it came up with a lot of pink ice cream. Riku stared as Sora slowly reached up to cup Riku's cheek with his hand, the coldness sending chills through his body. So this was what had Sora felt. Riku smiled.  
  
Sora leaned to stand on his tiptoes and started licking the sweet ice cream from Riku's cheek, letting his tongue swirl in circles to sooth the pain. One hand was supporting himself on Riku's arm, holding it firmly so he wouldn't fall forward.   
  
Riku quietly moaned at the feeling of Sora's velvet tongue lapping up the cold cream on his face and almost forgot all of his pain. The cheek didn't hurt anymore and all he could feel was Sora.  
  
"I love raspberries." Sora happily declared as he withdrew to cover Riku's cheek with more ice-cream.  
  
"And I love you." Riku smiled at his lover. Being punched by Kairi wasn't that bad after all, although Riku was kind of worried about what Kairi said.  
  
/"IT'S NOT LIKE I WANT TO HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU!"/  
  
Riku gulped.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: Blah blah and blah. Heh. Review please - yes I know I'm very review-desperate. Sorry about that. But you don't have to review, I also wrote for all the people who don't review. So next chapter, more plot. I guess. 


	24. Lost

Author's Ranting: Oooh a bit angst in this chapter! Not much but still! Oh and this chapter is kinda short -_-   
  
I've been playing Kingdom Hearts again and I'm currently in Halloween Town yay! I just love Sora's outfit there! Err okies, anyway, enough random rambling, on with the fic!  
  
~~~~  
  
"So what happened? Got into a fight?" Sora asked after all the ice cream was gone. He'd never eaten so much ice cream on one morning but then again, he'd never licked it off of his Riku.   
  
Riku flushed as he thought back when Kairi punched him. God, that girl had some serious strength, thankfully she never decided to get a weapon - she'd beat the heck out of everyone.   
  
"Yeah, um, someone hit me." Riku muttered, utterly embarrassed about the incident.   
  
"Who?" Sora inquired, his eyes going into big, round, blue eyes.   
  
"K..." Riku gritted his teeth, too embarrassed to tell Sora. What would he think? That Riku couldn't even handle a girl? It was so humiliating! Though he had a good excuse. Kairi had hit him without any warning, so... Oh whom was he trying to fool? His training should have been enough to dodge Kairi's punch even if he was blind.  
  
"K...? You mean Kairi did this?"   
  
Riku winced and growled, his cheeks getting red. Sora peered at Riku's face, inspecting the swollen cheek and then looked at Riku with a mixture of amusement and worry. He looked as though he couldn't decide whether to be worried and angry with Kairi or laugh at his friend's mistake. Shouldn't he be able to dodge a girl's attack?   
  
He then started snickering although he had decided to be angry with Kairi.   
  
Riku glared at Sora, his face looking extremely funny with that swollen cheek and Sora bit his lip to stop laughing.  
  
"S--sorry." Sora said, covering his mouth with his hand.   
  
The silver-haired then gave up glaring at his boyfriend and sat down on the chair, looking sulky.   
  
Sora raised his eyebrows and went to look at him. "Hey, you're not sulking because I laughed, are you?"   
  
Riku shook his head but didn't say anything. His eyes darted around the room, lingering on random things before wandering up to Sora.  
  
"Me and my big mouth..." Riku then muttered, remembering that he wouldn't have found out about Kairi's crush if he hadn't made that joke. He was used to make jokes like that, everyone used that line whenever someone was staring at them.   
  
"Oh I like your mouth..." Sora said and grinned as Riku blinked at him. He then rolled his eyes and shook his head.   
  
"Sora, we have a big problem."   
  
The brunette pouted at Riku's seriousness and crossed his arms.  
  
"What is it now? Kairi hurt your pride with beating you, or what?"   
  
Riku glared again and shook his head. "No. Kairi likes me." He stated, sounding almost disgusted. Sora wrinkled his nose.  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"   
  
The silver-haired let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his silky hair. "She *likes* me. She's having a crush on me and she confessed today morning."  
  
Silence.  
  
Sora seemed to have heard Riku but maybe he didn't understand. His eyes looked empty, as if he was far gone and not listening.   
  
"Sora?" Riku waved his hand before the other boy's face.  
  
No reaction.  
  
"Sora!" Riku lightly slapped his boyfriend's cheek, frowning in worry. "Hey, Sora."  
  
Then, suddenly, the younger boy jerked and his big blue eyes turned to look at Riku. It almost seemed as if he was hurt. But why would he be hurt? Because Kairi had a crush on Riku? It didn't make sense.  
  
"You always have to win, don't you?" Sora growled, narrowing his eyes at Riku.   
  
Riku's eyes went wide and he stared at his Sora in confusion. "What? What did I win? What did I do?" He asked in total confusion and wondered what had gotten into Sora.   
  
And then a thought entered his mind. Of course, before they had been together, Sora had been Kairi's boyfriend. And before that, both Sora and himself were fighting over Kairi although Riku's intention was to keep Kairi away from Sora instead of getting together with her. Sora always lost every bet and challenge Riku made and he was getting nervous about losing Kairi.  
  
"Sora, I don't want Kairi." Riku calmly said, hoping his friend would snap out of this.  
  
Sora didn't react and just continued to glare at him through narrowed eyes. What was with him? Some kind of trauma or something?!   
  
"Sora! Hey, I love you, remember? There's no rivalry between us! We're not fighting over Kairi anymore, remember?"   
  
Nothing. Not one move. Sora seemed to be in a trance. Maybe he was stuck in his memories.   
  
Suddenly the younger boy jerked away and shook his head. Riku watched with a concerned frown.  
  
"Sora..?" He quietly asked.   
  
Sora looked up at him and scratched his head, giving Riku a smile. "Uh, sorry, kinda spaced out there."   
  
Riku's frown deepened and he slowly went to wrap an arm around a puzzled looking Sora. They were locked in a tight embrace and Riku stared at Sora in concern. "Don't scare me, Sora." He whispered before leaning down to kiss him. Sora, however pulled away, shaking his head.  
  
"What?" Riku asked, feeling his heart ache at Sora's antics.  
  
"Sorry...but I feel strange right now. Could you leave me alone for a while?"   
  
Riku felt like he was just being pushed into a hole full of darkness, falling endlessly.   
  
"Sure." He casually replied and turned to walk out, leaving Sora his privacy. The moment his feet were outside, he reached up to wipe the tears in his eyes away, cursing himself for being oversensitive.   
  
Sora was huddled up in the kitchen corner, quietly sobbing. He was confused. He loved Riku, after all they had shared a Paopu fruit and they wanted to move together now. But somehow he felt humiliated. Riku had beaten him again. Kairi was in love with him.  
  
~~~  
  
Riku was lying on the Paopu tree, his tree. Staring at the sky he wondered what to do and if this was his fault. Sora was angry with him because he had beaten him again, in getting Kairi. But hadn't Sora been the one who got together with Kairi? So actually Sora had already won that competition. It didn't matter what happened after it, did it? And Kairi was just confused, maybe the scene yesterday made her go crazy. She didn't mean what she said back there, on the beach in the morning.  
  
Good. Riku had convinced himself but how to convince Sora? He didn't want him around anymore, he wanted to be alone.   
  
"Sora...." Riku sighed, continuing to stare at the sky.  
  
Meanwhile Selphie went visiting Kairi, this time being her 'friend' as always. She was cheerful and bouncy as always, telling Kairi about all the stuff Tidus said to her.   
  
"He's so cute! You should have seen when he blushed like--" she stopped and looked at Kairi who was looking at her funny.   
  
"What?"  
  
Kairi snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "Ah, no, nothing. Just...what have you been doing yesterday? Or let's say, what have *we* been doing? I somehow can't remember...."   
  
Selphie raised her eyebrows and shrugged.   
  
"Well in the morning, Tidus came to me and we had breakfast and stuff. Then we met up with Wakka and sparred a little. You can't remember what you did? Well I don't know what you did in the morning but in the afternoon we went swimming and Tidus caught some fish. You don't remember? Well, the day wasn't that eventful, I guess...."  
  
Selphie had made up the perfect story. Kairi was going to think she dreamed all the stuff about Wakka and Tidus being together.  
  
"Oh..." She answered and then smiled. "Well then, if that's all... Hey, Selphie can I tell you something?"  
  
Selphie nodded. 'Rule number one: Make her believe she can trust you' Selphie thought, inwardly grinning. Kairi was *so* going to go crazy.   
  
"Well...you know...I kissed Riku. But it was accident! And well, then, after that...I felt strange. You know...like...like I can't stop thinking of him..."  
  
The bouncy girl's ears perked up and she blinked. "You mean you...?"  
  
Kairi shrugged and looked down. "And that's not all...cause this morning...we were talking...and I kind of, well, blurt out that I have a crush on him."  
  
She remembered the scene and grew angry. "It's not like I want all of this! I don't see why I can't stop thinking of him...I don't want to...I hate him.."  
  
Her voice grew more and more quiet until she was sitting there, looking lost.   
  
Selphie twiddled her thumbs and thought hard. 'Okies. Problem. Kairi loves Riku. Riku hates Kairi. Hmmm.' "What about Sora?" Selphie said, realizing that she had voiced her thoughts.  
  
Kairi rolled her eyes. "He's... I hate him too. I hate them both! They...they betrayed me, as well as you, as I remember!" Suddenly Kairi was furious again, remembering how Riku had stolen her Sora and how Selphie helped them.  
  
"Gods they're bastards! Stupid gay bastards!!" She yelled, trying to burn the memory of seeing them making out on the beach. Seeing was enough, remembering was too much.  
  
Before Selphie could respond anything, Kairi had jumped up and run away in search for Wakka. So far, Wakka had been the only one who hadn't deceived her.  
  
"Oh dear..." Selphie sighed at the situation. She should tell the others, but what should they do about it? There was nothing they could do. Probably she should just leave it as that and prepare herself for tomorrow. She sighed.  
  
"Chaos ahoy."   
  
~~~  
  
"I hate them, I hate them, I hate them." Kairi chanted, kicking a log that was lying on the ground.  
  
"What's up, ya?" She was standing in front of Wakka's house so he could hear her from his room. He went out and looked at her, scratching his head.  
  
Kairi crossed her arms and pouted. "They're idiots. Gay idiots. They even haunt me in my dreams! I dreamt that you and Tidus were gay too and Selphie was acting really weird towards me. I'm *so* glad it was just a dream!" She huffed, kicking the log once again.  
  
Wakka didn't quite know how to feel. He did feel sorry for Kairi somehow, but he also knew that she deserved it. Besides, it was fun.  
  
"Really. I'd be dead if you all turn gay." she muttered, digging her hands into her pocket.   
  
"Huh?" She felt something and took it out. The hairpin. Her eyes widened and she looked at Wakka in horror.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: Kairi is homophobic. I can really imagine her freaking out because of her friends being gay. I don't see her as understanding and loving. I think she's annoying. BUT I DON'T HATE HER. No, I really don't hate her. Sometimes I even think she's ok. But most of the time I think she's just too much of a perfect nice girl so that's why I don't like her. AND she's the one who keeps Sora from Riku! 


	25. Memories

Author's Ranting: yay a longer chapter! okies, not really long but longer than the last one! Angst + sap + a bit fluff ahead! yeah I know it's odd but read it! There's also a plot! Yay! ....ehhh I think I'm going back to playing. I wanna see Sora in his Halloween outfit! hehehe...  
  
~~~~  
  
"Ya, what's this?" Wakka asked, trying to sound interested although he was slightly panicking. It was the proof that the thing hadn't been a dream.  
  
"That...that hairpin...Selphie....she..." Kairi fainted.  
  
Wakka blinked, somehow relieved at the fact that he didn't have to deal with Kairi asking him questions about the day before. He sighed and decided to take her home and put her into her bed. Maybe she'd forget everything.   
  
While he carried the girl in his arms, he saw Riku lying on the Paopu tree, staring at the sky as he has been doing it for hours now. He idly wondered where Sora was, since those two were always together. He then shrugged it off and proceeded to Kairi's house, placing her on her bed.  
  
"Have nice dreams, ya?" He left the room and decided to go see Riku.   
  
When he reached the bridge that lead to the little isle, he stopped as he thought he heard an unfamiliar sound. He listened closer and realized that it sounded a bit like someone was sobbing.  
  
A thought hit him and he stared wide-eyed at Riku. Though he was too far away to see if he was actually crying, he could see that he was twitching every now and then, and the sob was audible. Riku was crying.  
  
Wakka felt a wave of embarrassment coming over him for he had never seen Riku cry before and decided to leave the silver-haired boy. Who knew why he was crying and how he would react if someone saw him like this. Wakka and Riku knew each other well enough to not hurt each other's pride.   
  
Selphie and Tidus spent their day on a boat, happily spending time with each other. Tomorrow was going to be showtime again.   
  
The night came, and Riku still hadn't moved from his position on the Paopu tree. Foolish as he was, he had hoped for Sora to look for him, come and get him so they would crawl into bed together, like always. But this time Sora hadn't come. Sora had sent him away and hadn't come to get him. Did he hate him?  
  
Sora was lying in his bed, he had thought about everything. The whole day went by with him thinking over what he was feeling at the moment, and he still couldn't figure out. He felt like crying but then again he felt like beating someone up. He was angry, and sad. He wanted someone but he didn't want Riku.  
  
And then he gasped. What did he just think? He didn't want Riku? He didn't want his silver-haired angel to be around? What was wrong with him??  
  
"Riku..." He sobbed, clutching to the bed sheets. They still smelled like him. What was thing strange feeling? He missed Riku but at the same time he felt as though he was inferior to Riku and didn't want him to be around.   
  
At night, he had a dream. About him and Riku, when they were little. They were exploring the island with their wooden swords, ready to fight any monster that would come. It was not exactly a dream but more of a memory. When they had been about six years old they went to explore various caves and hills. But this dream suddenly changed the memory. Little Sora and Riku were running around, climbing the hill when suddenly a shadow appeared. Riku immediately reached out to Sora, holding his hand to protect him. But Sora found himself attracted to the shadow and reached to touch it only to be pulled away from his best friend.  
  
It was like a bond ripped when Sora was taken away by the shadow. Little Sora called for his friend, being scared of the shadow. But the shadow turned into a girl, a beautiful girl that smiled at him. "How about we leave? Just you and me?" She was smiling sweetly at him and Sora felt his heart fall into a hole.   
  
"Kairi!" He rushed into a sitting position and rubbed his forehead. 'That dream...the shadow...was Kairi...' She had torn them apart; their friendship was destroyed because she came. Their rivalry began. She was the source of his strange feeling. The source of all the bad things that had happened. If she hadn't come here, he and Riku would've been best friends forever.  
  
He started. Best friends forever? If Kairi hadn't been here...Sora would have never asked Riku to teach him how to kiss. And they would have never come together like this. So, was Kairi really the source of all the bad things that happened? Whose fault was it?   
  
He then remembered the gift Selphie had given him. The photo album. He got up and went to get it from the table. Running his index finger over the surface of the book he felt a sting somewhere in his chest. He opened it and climbed back into his bed to look at the pictures. Surrounded by Riku's scent.   
  
He smiled at the first picture. He and Riku were hugging, both smiling. Riku had such a wonderful smile. Sora sighed. The more pictures he saw, the more worried he got. But not because of his feelings but because he wondered where Selphie got all those photos. There were even photos of them making out!   
  
Ok. So they did make out a lot in public, in front of their friends even. But still.   
  
Sora shook his head as he felt that strange feeling again, seeing the picture of Riku kissing him. He thought back of how long they had been friends, casual friends. Not like this. And suddenly, everything turned out like this. Sora somehow realized that they were moving way too fast.   
  
Sora placed the book on the nightstand and lay back onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. His bed was small. But it felt so huge and empty without Riku.   
  
~~~  
  
The next day, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka started playing their part again. Tidus had come to Wakka's house early in the morning to practice and Selphie was bouncing to Kairi.  
  
"Kairi!" She called and knocked. Kairi opened, looking pale.   
  
"Hi!" Selphie cheerfully said, hugging Kairi. But it wasn't a normal hug, Selphie's hands wandered all over Kairi's back, running lazy circles on it. Kairi tensed and wanted to pull away but Selphie continued to hold her and rested her head on Kairi's shoulder.  
  
"I hope you've slept well." She whispered, sending a chill down Kairi's spine.   
  
Then she pulled away and winked. "Wakka and Tidus have a date today. I thought we could go with them, you know have a double date!" She squealed in excitement and Kairi's face only grew paler.  
  
"Tidus and Wakka.... a date?" She asked, her voice almost inaudible.  
  
"Yup!" Selphie answered, blowing Kairi a kiss. "Since we're a couple now I thought we could go with them!" Selphie smiled, looking at Kairi with big green eyes full of hope.  
  
Kairi thought she was going to throw up. "A...couple...?" She shakily asked.   
  
Selphie nodded happily, sighing contently. "You were so sweet yesterday! I would have never brought up the courage to tell you but you... wow!" Selphie acted as if Kairi had done something really romantic and she put her hand to her heart.   
  
Kairi started hyperventilating and her eyes nearly fell out of her head as she tried to remember what had happened.   
  
"Hey lovebirds!" Wakka and Tidus came, Tidus clinging to Wakka's arm.   
  
"Hey lovebirds yourself!" Selphie cheerfully replied and patted Kairi's back. The other girl nearly choked and started shaking like a leaf.   
  
Wakka and Tidus exchanged a look, wondering if they were already going to far. Then they shrugged and Wakka gestured the others to follow him.  
  
"Come on, we wanna take a boat and go to that little island. Tidus has been there yesterday, he said it was beautiful."  
  
Selphie nodded in agreement and grabbed Kairi with her, leading her to the pier where their boats were.  
  
"This is going to be so much fun, love!"  
  
~~~  
  
Riku woke up at noon, his back hurting from the hard tree trunk. He also felt cold and empty since it was the first morning since a few weeks when he didn't wake up with a purring Sora in his arms.  
  
He sat up, stretched and sighed. He was hungry since he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning. Since Sora told him to leave him alone. He felt a sting in his heart and sighed deeply.  
  
"I guess he's not coming for me..." Riku muttered, deciding that he had to throw his pride away and go look for Sora instead of waiting for him to come and get him.  
  
And so he hopped off the tree to walk back to Sora's house. His pace quickened with every step until he broke into a sprint, getting impatient to see Sora.  
  
Sora had tried to eat in order to forget his worries, eating always helped. But remembering the times he and Riku had fed each other like a couple of lovesick fools, he only felt worse after eating. He still didn't want Riku to be around but he also missed him. Now it was only to decide what feeling was worse. Being around Riku and feeling inferior and scared or being without Riku?   
  
Sora sighed and got up, opening the door to go look for Riku.  
  
Just in that moment Riku couldn't restrain himself and dashed towards the house, eyes widening as he tried to stop himself from running directly into Sora who was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Woah!" Riku couldn't stop and fell directly into Sora's arms, both of them falling to the floor.   
  
Silence. Again.   
  
No one knew what to say. But Sora felt complete, having his angel back into his arms. To feel the other's heartbeat, to hear him breathing, all these things were so insignificant when they were there but as soon as Riku was gone, Sora could feel how much he missed all of this.  
  
Riku was looking into Sora's eyes, his hands supporting himself, preventing him from crushing Sora with his full weight. When he leaned down, Sora almost panicked at the thought that Riku was going to kiss him.   
  
But instead of kissing, Riku simply laid his cheek on Sora's, sighing at the touch.   
  
Sora's arms tightened around Riku and he pulled him close, feeling torn. One half of him wanted to shove Riku away because it was frightening how fast everything was changing, but the other half wanted Riku to stay and never let him go since he knew Riku would never hurt him. He knew that he loved Riku, he just wasn't sure if their relationship was right the way it was. And also, Riku was so much better than him, much better than anything he deserved. Riku, the perfect one. The one who could beat anyone. The one who got all the attention. The one who was simply gorgeous.   
  
"I'd be nothing..." Sora quietly murmured, feeling inferior again.  
  
Riku moved his lips over his cheek, murmuring, "And I'm nothing without you."   
  
Sora turned away and Riku's lips left him. "What's wrong?" Riku asked, sounding hurt.  
  
Sora gave him a gentle push and they stood up, brushing themselves off. Sora stared at his feet and shook his head. "It's not..your fault. I'm just..confused." Sora admitted.  
  
Riku reached out to stroke Sora's hair and Sora wrapped his arms around Riku, clutching to him.   
  
"Just let me hold you. Don't...kiss...or...anything...just...hold..." His words were muffled through Riku's shirt and he sounded like a scared little boy after a nightmare.  
  
~~~  
  
It was afternoon and Kairi was nearly dying. They had reached the island Wakka was talking about and Selphie was torturing Kairi good. Wakka and Tidus did well in playing a couple and even started to make out in front of Kairi. Selphie almost started believing those two, they were really acting well...they *were* acting, right?  
  
After seeing Wakka and Tidus doing a good job, she decided to scare Kairi even more.  
  
Leaning close to her, she readied herself for a kiss. Kairi stared in horror and the look of mortification was clearly visible.   
  
"Mmmh I want a kiss." Selphie purred, grabbing Kairi's shoulders to keep her from running away. The other girl struggled, fighting for her life only to see Wakka and Tidus *still* making out. Just as she was about to scream Selphie silenced her with her lips, Tidus and Wakka stopped their act immediately to stare at Selphie and Kairi.  
  
Time stood still as the two girls kissed.  
  
Kairi stopped breathing.  
  
When Selphie pulled away, Kairi fell to the ground, unconscious. She had fainted from the shock. Selphie giggled and Tidus gaped.  
  
"Selphie...did you just...kiss her...?" He stammered, frowning.  
  
Selphie giggled even more and poked the unconscious Kairi. "I think she's dead."  
  
Wakka went over to her, checking if she was all right. "She's still alive. Probably just fainted, like yesterday, ya."  
  
Tidus crossed his arms and pouted. "Why did you kiss her? You didn't have to be *that* cruel." He was obviously jealous that Selphie had kissed someone else. He was the one to talk.   
  
Selphie smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss. "Hey, you've been making out with Wakka, I thought I could have some fun too!"  
  
Tidus blushed and stared at the ground. Selphie giggled and hugged Tidus, giving him a big smooch. "I looooove you!"  
  
Tidus blushed even more but smiled slightly, pulling Selphie into his lap.  
  
"Love you too."  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: jaa Selphie and Tidus are still cute. And Sora is being angsty! Things are moving too fast, and he only realizes it now?? Hn. Well then, Riku has to be extra nice plus he isn't allowed to kiss Sora. This is going to be mortifying for our poor little Riku!! stay tuned for more, will ya? 


	26. Just One Kiss?

Author's Ranting: Heh 2 angst chapters, one sappy fluff chapter! I hope this is good though I'm not really sure. I wrote this chapter in school since I would've been way too busy at home. I just felt like writing this after writing those sad chapters with Riku and Sora. There's no Selph, Kairi, Tidus and Wakka in this chapter, just our sweeeet bishie couple ^^  
  
~~~~  
  
"So....you're alright?" Riku asked after awhile.  
  
They had eaten together, Riku shoving tons of cereal down his throat since he hadn't eaten in a while, while Sora sat across from him and watched. Now they were sitting on the couch, Sora in Riku's lap.  
  
"Yeah...I guess." Sora answered, titling his head back to look at his friend. He smiled and placed his hands over Riku's which were resting on the younger boy's stomach.  
  
"So why is it I can't kiss you?" The older boy's face screwed up, changing into something similar to Sora's famous pouty-look.  
  
The younger boy sighed and moved his head back into place, resting it against Riku's chest.  
  
"I don't want it..." he murmured.  
  
Riku winced slightly at the statement but decided that there had to be a reason for this. And this reason made Sora feel bad and that was the last thing he wanted. So maybe he should just wait a while and try to keep Sora happy until he was willing to tell him what was wrong.  
  
"What? You're having the *hottest* boy on earth holding you and you don't want to kiss him? What are you, straight?" Riku teased, successfully keeping the mood up. As long as they were joking, Sora wouldn't be upset.   
  
Sora started to grin and eventually burst into laughter and Riku enjoyed the sight of Sora laughing again. That angsty mood didn't fit him at all.  
  
"Riku..." Sora began, only to dissolve into laughter again. He shifted so that he was kneeling on Riku's lap, his hands supporting himself on Riku's shoulders. Riku smiled and watched his friend's happy expression.   
  
'He's so beautiful when he's happy.'   
  
Sora calmed and smiled gently at his silver-haired angel. They looked at each other, both smiling, neither of them knowing what to do next. Riku, of course, wanted to kiss Sora, he wanted to kiss him senseless.   
  
Sora, however, couldn't decide whether to follow his hormones (which were screaming that he should pounce and attack Riku with his lips) or his strange fear of moving too fast. Both ways would be foolish.  
  
Silence filled the room and Riku noticed Sora's inner conflict as the expression in his eyes changed. 'No, Sora, don't get upset.' He thought and tried to think of something good to say. Maybe...  
  
"Pleaaaaase let me kiss you, Oh Holy One!" Riku suddenly blurted out, making it sound as though he was going to cry.  
  
Sora blinked as he was pulled out of his thought, staring at Riku a little puzzled. He had sounded so cute just now.   
  
"No." Sora simply said. Though he had already decided to give in and let Riku kiss him senseless, he started to like Riku's current behaviour. Seeing him beg was really cute.   
  
Riku sulked for a moment and turned away like an upset child. After a few moments, however, he turned back to Sora, a begging look in his eyes.  
  
"Pleeeeaaaaase?" his voice was higher than usually, he obviously tried to sound cute.   
  
Sora almost burst into hysterics. Oh no, Riku shouldn't try to sound cute, it was horrible - though seeing him *trying* to be cute, was priceless. Sora remained serious and shook his head.  
  
"No." Oh yes, he was cruel. But Riku was just too adorable like this. Besides, he would stop once it was getting too cruel.  
  
"Why not?" Riku continued to whine and Sora showed him the cold shoulder.  
  
"Because I don't want to!"  
  
"But why? Pleaaase! Pretty please?" Riku went on and Sora had to suppress a smile every time Riku tried something new. It went on and on, Riku wailing desperately while Sora continued to stay serious. He hadn't been that serious since... wait, he'd never been *that* serious. And Riku would never been that *whiny*.   
  
Suddenly the silver-haired stopped his wailing and frowned. Sora immediately looked at Riku, nervous, because he thought he had hurt Riku's feelings with his little play. They sat in silence, looking at each other until Riku spoke up.  
  
"I still don't know why you're acting like this since I mentioned that Kairi's got a crush on me..." he said, frowning deeper.  
  
Sora winced and lowered his head. What now? He didn't know what to say, even if it was very unlike him to be so thoughtful and worried.  
  
As Riku noticed that Sora's mood was sinking deeper, he quickly pulled him close to hold him. Sora always loved to be held. He then leaned down until their foreheads were touching and smiled sadly. "Why is it bothering you so much?"   
  
Sora shook his head and sighed. "I don't know..." He hung his head but Riku lifted his chin up, smiling at him. The hand cupped his cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb and then Riku closed his eyes and leaned down to press their lips together.  
  
His lips, however, met nothing but air.   
  
"I said no." Sora said, this time smirking at a confused looking Riku. Then the silver-haired grunted and turned away, thrusting his lower lip forward, pouting just like Sora. So he could be cute when he wanted to be...  
  
"You're soo cruel..." Riku muttered, still pouting. He almost looked cuter than Sora. Almost.   
  
Sora then gave up and chuckled, pulling Riku back to cuddle with him. "You're so cute when you're pouting!"   
  
Riku blinked and then stared a little horrified. "Uh...I..." Then he pouted even more. "Hey I'm not cute! You're the cute one!"  
  
Sora blinked his big blue eyes at Riku, batting his eyelashes in his most adorable way. "Me? Cute? Nah!" He emphasized 'nah' by sticking his tongue out and shook his head.  
  
Then he gave Riku his famous cheesy grin and leaned in again, their lips almost touching. Just when Riku was about to move and press their lips together, Sora withdrew again, grinning.  
  
"Awww you're killing meeee~~!" Riku pulled on his hair, groaning.  
  
"No kissing until I found out what I'm feeling." Sora simply said, enjoying the way Riku was begging for him. It made him feel good to see how much Riku wanted him. And Riku started wailing.   
  
"But that's not faaaair!"   
  
~~~  
  
"So." Riku stated as he put down the controller. Sora and Riku had played some video games to forget the fact that Riku wasn't allowed to kiss him. They'd played almost every game Sora had since Riku needed all the distraction he could get.   
  
"Hm?" Sora replied as he noticed Riku staring at him.  
  
Riku was chewing on his lip, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. He wrinkled his forehead, as if thinking of something. Then he spoke.  
  
"You know, kissing's considered healthy! Every kiss lengthens your life about 10 minutes!"   
  
Sora wrinkled his nose and frowned a little. "...Is that true?" He then asked, knowing that Riku was *very* desperate.  
  
Riku smirked and raised one elegant eyebrow. "Would I lie to you?"   
  
The younger boy grinned but hesitated and eyed Riku suspiciously. "Hm..." Then he let out a bark and pointed his finger at Riku as if accusing him of something.   
  
"Hah! You just wanna rape me! cause I'm so hot!"  
  
Riku blinked, stared, and blinked. Then he burst out into laughter, rolling on the floor. literally.   
  
Sora grinned and watched Riku with crossed arms. The older boy laughed like mad and eventually started to catch his breath, sitting up carefully.  
  
He then put a hand to his chest and put on his most shocked face. "Oh no! You've found me out! I admit, I just wanted you to kiss me so you're distracted and then I can tie you to the bed and have my way with you!" He tried hard not to laugh while saying this and kept his voice melodramatic, waiting for Sora's response.   
  
As he noticed that Sora wasn't saying anything but turning red like a tomato he raised his eyebrows. Sora's eyes were looking into nothingness, as if he was seeing something in front of his mind's eye while blushing harder from minute to minute.  
  
"Oh..." Riku started grinning, rubbing his temple. He then pointed at Sora just like the younger boy had done before and grinned at his victory.  
  
"Aha! So you *want* me to rape you! Ohoo Sora I didn't know you were like that!"   
  
"Huh?!" Sora snapped back and stared at Riku, his face practically burning up. 'Crap, crap, crap. My face. It's so hot. I'm blushing like mad. Crap!' Sora thought, his embarrassment increasing as Riku smirked at him.  
  
Suddenly, in a split of a second, Riku was pinning Sora to the ground, his hands wandering over his stomach abs.   
  
Instinctively, Sora closed his eyes and his breathing got heavier. Riku smirked and moved his hands to Sora's sides, massaging him with his fingers.  
  
"Mmm...Riku..." Sora sighed, enjoying every moment of it. He just couldn't stay strong and play hard to get when Riku was doing *that* to him. His heart pounded faster and Riku's touch drove him insane. 'I love him...' Sora thought in his hazed mind.  
  
Riku's smirk widened.  
  
"Riku!!" A loud squeal suddenly escaped Sora's lips and echoed through the room. "Waahh Riku!! Stooohop!" Sora squealed between laughter. Riku was tickling him - again. His legs were pinning Sora down onto the ground so the younger boy couldn't even run away. Riku's hands alternated between tickling and massaging, which was driving Sora even more insane than just tickling. One moment, Sora was sighing in pleasure, and the other moment he shrieked like a pig that was going to be killed.   
  
"Ha! That's even better than kissing, right?" Riku scoffed, jabbing Sora's sides. Oh yes, here was his sweet revenge. If Sora wanted to torture him with that 'no-kissing' rule, he could make Sora go crazy, too.  
  
"Stop! Stop!" Sora begged, already getting a stomachache from all the tickling. His greatest weak point was that he was extremely ticklish. And Riku always took advantage of that.  
  
"Nah, it's more fun to see you squirm." Sora saw Riku smirking at him and then squealed again like he was dying. After awhile Riku began to sympathize with his poor boyfriend and released him onto the soft mattress of the bed.  
  
"I'm....dead...." Sora announced as he panted, trying to catch his breath. He already had tears in the eyes from all the laughing.   
  
Riku smirked. "And I'm horny."  
  
"Riku!!" Sora's eyes snapped open and in no time Riku was having a pillow in his face, directly hitting his swollen cheek.  
  
"Ow..." He muttered, muffled by the pillow. He then threw the fluffy thing away and rubbed his cheek. "Damn, Sora, I was just kidding." He smiled and began stroking Sora's hair, pampering him in any way possible.  
  
Time passed just with Riku pampering his boyfriend and Sora felt content and relaxed.  
  
"Mmm..." He sighed, nuzzling into Riku as the silver-haired climbed into bed to hold him.  
  
They both got silent and listened to the sound of their breathing, playing like a soothing melody. What was Sora thinking about moving too fast? What could be possibly better than this? Definitely not moving things slower. Or at least he hoped so.  
  
"Hey." Riku's voice quietly asked.  
  
Sora opened one lazy eye to look at him. "Hm?"  
  
Riku's face turned into a pout again and he whined, "Do I get a kiss now??"  
  
Sora smiled, letting his index finger trail down Riku's cheek, over his chin and then his throat.   
  
Riku smirked and grabbed Sora's hand, holding it to his chest until Sora could feel his friend's heartbeat.   
  
"And now. Do I get to kiss you?"   
  
Sora melted at Riku's husky voice and found himself nodding mindlessly. The next thing he remembered was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Riku's lips on his, locking in a chaste and loving kiss.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: OMG. First those 2 angsty chapters and now this crappy chapter. I don't know, was it bad? was it good? What do you think? I'm not really thinking right now so I have no idea what I'm writing O.O yeah so...please review, and stay tuned for the next episode of the never ending soap opera! lol 


	27. Turbulence Ahead!

Author's Ranting: Sorry to keep ya waiting! I've been extremely lazy the last few days and I couldn't stop listening to the new Linkin Park album Meteora! But when I listen to those songs I can't write anything fluffy so that's why it took so long for me to get the feeling back... yeah and this chapter isn't neccessarily fluffy... just a whole lot of plot. (lol that rhymed) and some Sora x Riku problems! I hate torturing them but a relationship can't exist without turbulence!  
  
~~~~  
  
"We should really get Kairi back into her house, don't you think?" Tidus suddenly said, eyeing the still unconscious girl on the ground.  
  
"Nah! We'll leave her here. She deserves it anyway! ...oooh how about going back and have some cotton candy?? I have loooots of it at home!  
  
Tidus stared incredulously at his girlfriend. "You want to leave her here and go for cotton candy? ...and you have lots of it at home??" Selphie was sure a very..unique..girl.  
  
Selphie shrugged and bounced around, tugging on Tidus's arm. "Come on! I want sugar! We can let Wakka take care of her!" She used her puppy eyes on poor Tidus who, of course, couldn't resist and nodded with a sigh.  
  
"Fine. Let's go, sugarbaby." Tidus said with a sly smile.  
  
Selphie blinked and then started laughing. "Ooh you're so cute!" She squealed as she hugged her boyfriend who was blushing again. She simply loved Tidus. Then they decided to head for the boat to get back.  
  
However, they didn't realize that using the boat was the only chance to get back to their island and since they had come in one boat, they had to get back together, too....   
  
~~~  
  
"See? Kissing is healthy." Riku winked as he lay contently in Sora's bed, arms behind his head. Sora's head was resting on Riku's chest while his hands wandered up to Riku's face, stretching it. He seemed to like doing that.  
  
"Hmmm that was more than healthy..." Sora lazily replied. "..and more than just kissing." he added, shooting Riku a grin. Riku smirked back and shrugged. "Well, you gotta do something for your health..." With that statement, Riku's hands were already roaming over Sora's body again--  
  
"HEY YOU TWO!"  
  
Both boys jerked in surprise, Sora squealing as Riku shoved him away in shock. Sora landed on the floor with a 'thud' and rubbed his butt in annoyance.   
  
Riku stared at the brunette girl in the doorway, trying to glare her to death.  
  
"Ooh did I interrupt you? Sooo~~rry! I just wanted to say that Kairi fainted. I think we overdid it a little but it was so much fun!" Selphie started ranting, which eventually ended up in some random story about sugar and puppies. All of that time she never seemed to notice that Sora and Riku were both half-naked.   
  
"And then the puppy went over to--"  
  
"Selphie, thank you for informing us about the situation but as you can see, we're very busy." Riku cut her off, giving her a look before passionately kissing Sora.  
  
Selphie squealed in delight and clapped her hands. Riku then pulled away and gave her another look, which she understood.   
  
"Okay, okay, I'm off! See you two later!" She waved at them and hopped out of the room, closing the door. She had to check on Tidus who was currently throwing up from all the cotton candy they ate...  
  
Sora's face was flushed and he looked down in embarrassment. Nothing worse than having someone walk in on you. Riku noticed the embarrassed look and smiled. He hooked his finger under the younger boy's chin and lifted it up until Sora was facing him.   
  
"So. Where were we?" He said with a smirk.   
  
Sora reddened even more and shrugged slightly. "I think we should just go outside and see what they've done to Kairi, you know, in case they really overdid it." he quietly murmured.  
  
Did he still care about Kairi?  
  
Riku felt a little upset about what he just said but nodded and climbed out of the bed to get his clothes. When he put on his pants he noticed Sora staring at him in awe. Smirking, Riku decided to leave his shirt and go comb his hair, making sure to show his bare chest. Sora was drooling at the sight and clutched to the bed sheets. Hormones were overflowing at that moment.  
  
Riku smirked at Sora's reaction and decided to stretch, flexing his muscles before tossing his silver hair back in a motion that made Sora go crazy.  
  
"Gods!" Sora cried out before pouncing Riku. The silver-haired snickered and tapped his boyfriend's nose as he saw the pouty look on his face.  
  
"Why do you have to be so hot? You're making me all horny."   
  
Riku laughed at Sora's statement and raised his eyebrows. "I guess I should be the one to throw a pillow at you now, huh?"   
  
The younger boy flushed and remembered the time before, when Riku told him that he was horny and Sora just smashed a pillow in his face. Riku chuckled gave his friend a quick kiss before gently pushing him up to get up.  
  
"So, you wanted to check on Kairi, I guess we should get dressed then." He winked and bent down to pick up his shirt from the floor, making sure that Sora could see his well-formed ass. He could hear Sora moan and tried to hard not to laugh. It was so easy to get those reactions out of Sora.   
  
"I don't think we can move together." Sora suddenly said and Riku spun around in surprise.   
  
"What? Why?" It had been *his* idea, so why was he chickening out now? Riku noticed that Sora *was* acting weird ever since his birthday, he could almost feel that their relationship was going to have some serious turbulence. But other than Riku thought, Sora grinned and pinched Riku's butt.  
  
"You'd make me lose my mind! Imagine us being together *all* the time... I'd be all over you and who knows, maybe I'll even forget to eat!"  
  
The silver-haired blinked and scratched his head. Then he smirked and thought of a good reply.   
  
"But Sora, love, if you're hungry I'm always here..." He winked, tracing his index finger up on Sora's chest, his throat up to his lips and lingered. Sora gazed into Riku's beautiful aqua eyes and took the finger in his mouth, sucking on it like a baby on a pacifier. Riku closed his eyes and sighed. He was just about to drown in the feeling as Sora pulled away and crossed his arms, frowning thoughtfully.  
  
"What?" Riku asked, frowning equally.   
  
Sora thrust his lower lip out and drew his brows together. "...don't you think we should start locking our doors? I mean, what if someone walks in on us when we're really doing...uh...e x e r c i s e s....?" Sora's whole face went bright red at the last word and Riku mentally 'aww'ed. Sora was still so innocent, even after his first experiences.   
  
"Well, that'll be a good idea. So, as soon as we live together we'll look for a lock that no one except us can unlock, ok?"  
  
Sora suddenly grinned. "Yeah, how about something like a DNA code or voice recognition? Like in those movies...." he trailed off.  
  
Riku chuckled and shook his head. Yes, cute little innocent Sora with his childish dreams of high-tech locks. Simply adorable.  
  
"We'll see about that." Riku replied and extended his hand to Sora. The younger boy took it and they left the house to go outside.  
  
Of course, they didn't know that Kairi and Wakka were *still* on that other island where Selphie and Tidus had left them. And Selphie and Tidus *still* hadn't realized that Wakka and Kairi weren't able to come back without a boat.   
  
~~~  
  
"Mm...Riku..." Kairi shifted and stirred awake, her eyes fluttering slightly. She then opened them, blinking a few times to clear her vision and was greeted by a huge plant.   
  
"Huh?!" She jumped up, her head spinning, and looked around. She was in some kind of jungle. Then she remembered that Selphie and taken her to another island. Selphie. She shuddered. If she was really on this island then this would mean that the whole 'Tidus-is-together-with-Wakka-and-Selphie-has-a-crush-on-me' thing wasn't just a dream but reality.  
  
"Hey, you're awake, ya?" Wakka came strolling towards her. She looked at him a little confused and noticed his expression. He looked...worried.  
  
"Where are we?" She quietly asked, noting that the sun was already setting.  
  
Wakka sat down beside her and shrugged. "A small island next to Destiny Island. We've come here together with Tidus and Selphie, but it seems that those two went home without us. And we don't have a boat."  
  
Okay, so it was fun to torture her for all the things she did, but still, Kairi wasn't that bad and Wakka still had mixed feelings about her. Although, he now felt a little disappointed after what she said in her sleep. After she'd fainted she woke up for a moment but she probably just woke up to fall asleep again and Wakka watched over her.  
  
"Kairi, can I ask ya something?"   
  
The girl was still confused but nodded once, holding her hand to forehead. "Sure..."  
  
Wakka took a deep breath and opened his mouth, only to shut it again. He shook his head and tried again. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to ask. Maybe because if he asked and Kairi said yes, it would only confirm that he would never have a chance with her. Why did he have to hear her sleep talking? It made everything so complicated.  
  
Kairi waited for Wakka's question but noted that Wakka wasn't going to say anything and eventually hid her head in her hands, trying to sort everything out.   
  
'Ok...let's start from the beginning.... I was Sora's girlfriend. Sora left me for Riku. Which means they're gay. Okay. I wanted to break them up, Selphie deceived me and eventually left me for Tidus. Okay. Wakka is on my side. Good. I have a crush on Riku although I should hate him for stealing my Sora. Damn.'  
  
However, she didn't notice that she had muttered the last sentence aloud, answering Wakka's question.  
  
"So it's true, ya?" Wakka quietly muttered, sounding really disappointed.   
  
Kairi's head snapped up and her eyes widened. "What? Did I...did I just say that aloud?"   
  
Wakka nodded.   
  
The girl's eyes widened and she grabbed her hair to tear on it. "I hate this! Why is everything so messed up?? I can't get Riku out of my head although I should hate him! I should hate both Sora and him! They're disgusting! And you and Tidus! And Selphie! How... Everyone's gay and Sora and Riku...they both shoved me aside...." She growled and stomped her feet.   
  
This wasn't fair. It was disgusting and simply wrong.   
  
Wakka sympathized with the girl and put an arm around her. "Kairi, I have to confess something. We...we fooled you... Tidus and I aren't together. And Selphie hasn't got a crush on you. We just wanted to see how you react since.... we all thought you'd deserve a lesson."   
  
Bad move.   
  
Because in a spilt of a second, Kairi was screaming and kicking, scratching Wakka in a brutal way, just like a fury.   
  
Wakka just let her beat him up, he thought he deserved it. Kairi continued screaming and hitting him with all her strength but eventually gave in and ran away to hide somewhere on the island. She didn't want to be around anyone right now. She had to sort out her feelings.   
  
Wakka was pretty beaten as Kairi disappeared and sighed in frustration. This was really getting out of hand.   
  
~~~  
  
"You're feeling better?" Selphie cooed as she and Tidus strolled along the beach.   
  
"Yeah..." He muttered. Cotton candy was definitely not good for him. How could Selphie eat so much without getting sick of it?   
  
As they walked around they saw two figures standing at the pier and Selphie smiled as she saw that it was Riku and Sora, kissing.   
  
"Hehe, do you think we should go over to them? You know, I just walked in on them so I don't know if they want to see me again." She giggled but decided to visit them anyway. Pulling Tidus with her she ran towards the two who already saw her and stopped kissing to turn to her.  
  
"Hey Selphie." Riku said. Tidus still looked a little pale and Sora raised his eyebrow.   
  
"What happened to you?"   
  
Tidus blushed and muttered something unintelligible.  
  
Selphie giggled. "Too much cotton candy. He has to work on holding his sugar."   
  
"Isn't that supposed to be 'holding his liquor'?" Sora asked, frowning puzzled.  
  
Riku laughed and Selphie giggled again. "Sora! We're all underage! Do you think I'd give something as alcohol to Tidus?? We're just eating cotton candy!"   
  
The four of them laughed until Sora stopped and looked worried. "Hey, where is Kairi? You said she fainted, but she isn't at her house."   
  
Riku could feel jealousy come up. He knew it was ridiculous, he knew that Sora loved him, but still, seeing how much Sora still cared for that girl made him sick. Not that he would tell Sora, though. He was afraid that they could start to argue and maybe get into a fight, and that was the last thing he wanted.   
  
Tidus and Selphie both suddenly gasped and exchanged a look.  
  
"Oh no!" Tidus exclaimed, finally realizing what they had done.   
  
"Oh no, what?" Sora asked, getting more and more worried. Riku mentally kicked himself for getting more and more jealous. But Sora *was* acting really caring for her. He could feel it, the whole way Sora suddenly talked about Kairi...  
  
"We left them on the island! Wakka and Kairi are still there and they don't have a boat to come back!" Tidus explained.   
  
Sora's eyes widened and he smacked his forehead. "What?! We have to get her back! Let's take the boat, come on, Riku!" Sora sounded so extremely worried and shocked that it almost broke Riku's heart. Another thing was that he said 'we have to get *her* back' although Wakka was also on the island. Was he only thinking about Kairi?  
  
"No." Riku refused, his childish stubbornness kicking in. Sora stared in disbelief.  
  
"What?"  
  
Riku crossed his arms and looked away. "It's not like they're gonna die. It's just an island, you know. Wakka can fight if there is anything and Kairi's got some strength too." He winced at the memory of his swollen cheekbone that was still red. "We can get them tomorrow morning. It's getting dark now and we all know that it's dangerous to take the boat when it's dark."   
  
Riku tried to sound reasonable but it was obvious that he was just saying those things to let Kairi stay away.  
  
Selphie sensed Riku's jealousy and decided to help him. "Riku is right! They can take care on their own, nothing's going to happen. Tomorrow morning we'll get them and apologize. We should all thank Riku for he has saved us from taking the boat at night in the dark!"  
  
Tidus frowned. He was almost about to say that they could just take a light with them and that the moon was bright enough to light the way but he saw that Selphie was saying all those things just because of Riku.  
  
"Fine..." Sora muttered and turned around to head for his house.   
  
Riku was still standing there with crossed arms but watched Sora from the corner of his eye as the younger boy strolled away, not even caring for his boyfriend. Riku frowned and put his arms down, slumping his shoulders forward. His feelings about turbulence were going to be true....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: I promise not to make it too angsty, this story is supposed to be fun! But it's just neccessary to keep problems coming up in order to keep a storyline... so I promise Sora and Riku won't break up or anything, they'll just go through some problems and surely end up loving each other even MORE ^_^  
  
it's just like in real life, a relationship can never be perfect all the time... sigh.. I'm talking too much about myself, please ignore that!  
  
Stay tuned for the next chapter! 


	28. I'll Be Your Crying Shoulder

Author's Ranting: oi...I hope this chapter is ok. I'm still busy with my studyings... school sucks -_-  
  
It's pretty late right now but I just had to write something before the end of this week so here it is, I hope it's not too crappy. The ending is sweet, I think. Ehh...whatever, read it yourself and enjoy!  
  
~~~~  
  
"Man, what's with Sora?" Tidus asked after a while, scratching his head confused. He looked over at Selphie and waited for an answer of the hyper girl, but Selphie had quieted down and was frowning at Riku in sympathy. Tidus frowned, too and looked at the silver-haired boy who was staring at the sand with an unreadable expression.   
  
Silence filled the air and Tidus looked back and forth between his girlfriend and Riku. The sun was now almost gone, darkening the beach.  
  
"I'll get Kairi." Riku muttered, heading towards the boats at the pier.   
  
Tidus raised his eyebrows and Selphie blinked.  
  
"What? But Riku, you just said--"  
  
The silver-haired spun around and glared at his two friends. "Well, our dear princess is going to be in danger if she stays on that island. And Sora wouldn't want that, now would he?" Riku hissed, sounding so hateful that Selphie started to get tears in her eyes.   
  
"Wakka's there. Come on, don't overreact just because of this." Tidus tried to reason and Selphie covered her head with her hands, expecting Riku to go berserk and beat them up for stopping him. But instead, Riku rolled his eyes and turned around to stalk towards his house.   
  
"I'm going to get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll rescue the princess."   
  
With those words, the silver-haired boy walked away, leaving Selphie and Tidus on the beach.   
  
"That's all your fault!" Selphie whined, poking Tidus's shoulder. The blonde wrinkled his nose.  
  
"What?! *You* wanted to get back without thinking about the others! It's your...fault..." He had wanted to accuse Selphie but his voice got more and more quiet as he saw the look on his girlfriend's face. Selphie was scowling - and that meant that she was really pissed off.  
  
"Uh..." Tidus looked around nervously and tried to escape his doom.   
  
"Fine." Selphie suddenly said, looking guilty. "It was my fault. And that's why I have to make it up. I'm going to talk to Sora and Riku, they just can't have a fight because of this."  
  
The brunette grimaced and hugged her boyfriend before she ran off into the direction of Sora's house. Yup, Sora's house, not Riku's. Because Riku was still dangerous when angry. Sora wouldn't hurt her, or at least she hoped so.  
  
~~~  
  
"Knock knock!" Selphie chided as she stood in front of Sora's door.  
  
"Go away." Came a muffled reply but that only made Selphie open the door. She grinned. 'Stupid Sora, what a big mistake. Not locking your door while I'm running around here. Heh...' Selphie giggled and looked around to see Sora sitting at his desk, breaking pencils.   
  
"Um, Sora-dear... I don't think killing pencils is a solution." Selphie offered, smiling brightly as the boy turned to her. He let the pencil fall to the floor and nodded.  
  
"Right..." He muttered, only to reach for a pen, trying to break it. "This is much better!" He growled, scowling in a very scary way.  
  
Selphie almost regretted coming here, almost.   
  
"Well, I don't see why you're so angry, Sora." She confidently said, hands resting on her hips.   
  
The brunette boy tightened his grip on the pen and nearly broke it, clenching his teeth.  
  
"I'm. Not. Angry. AT. ALL." He bit out.   
  
Selphie quirked and eyebrow and rubbed her nose. "Um, Sora... you know, I'm sorry. It was my fault. Leaving Kairi and Wakka on that island. It's not Riku's fault, so don't be angry with him..."  
  
Sora suddenly turned to her, his eyes flaring up to glare at her.   
  
"I thought I said I'm not angry." He sneered, scaring the life out of the poor girl. Sora was sure acting strange lately. He never was the type to be angry with someone, especially not with his best friend and boyfriend. What could be the reason for this?  
  
"Sora, I'm just--" But Selphie was cut off by Sora getting up from his chair, pushing her towards the door.  
  
"Just go. I need to think."  
  
That was the cue for Selphie to stay and find out what was on Sora's mind. She immediately made herself as heavy as possible, so heavy that Sora couldn't push her away any more and crossed her arms, smirking at his lost effort. She could be strong when she wanted it.   
  
"Need to think, eh? About what? About Kairi? About Riku? About Kairi and Riku?" Selphie nearly started blabbing randomly again but then reminded herself that she had to clear this now.  
  
Sora looked away and shrugged, sitting himself on the bed. Selphie hopped after him and plopped down on the bed as well.  
  
"I don't know. I mean, I love Riku alright. And he hates Kairi. But you know what? If Kairi never came here, then would Riku and I be together? Wouldn't we still be friends, best friends but nothing more? It was all because of Kairi that this started, you know, the...the..." Sora blushed. No one else knew about this 'Kissing Lesson' where Riku had taught Sora how to kiss.   
  
"The...?" Selphie's eyes went wide with expectation and she blinked her big green eyes at the boy.  
  
Sora's cheeks flushed and he just shrugged, murmuring something unintelligible.   
  
But Selphie, being herself, still managed to understand whatever Sora had been muttering and squealed happily.  
  
"Awww that's soooo...." She then paused, putting her finger to her chin, thinking of a nice word. "...kinky!" She grinned and Sora blinked at her.  
  
Selphie giggled and patted Sora's back. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could've used this method for Tidus!"   
  
Sora blinked again. 'Method?' It wasn't a method or plan or anything. He really just wanted to learn how to kiss. Because before that day he hadn't even thought about Riku in any way other than his friend.   
  
"So that's why you want to save Kairi?" Selphie asked after awhile. She had quieted down and was serious for once. Sora sighed and nodded. His anger had subsided through the conversation with the bouncy girl but now he felt torn. Torn between Kairi, someone he had always cared for, and Riku, the person he loved more than anything.  
  
"What should I do?" Sora murmured, sounding so helpless and small that Selphie had to frown. The girl hummed quietly and snapped her fingers.  
  
"Go to Riku. Tell him that you love him. Make love. Forget about Kairi." Selphie had a cheeky grin painted on her face as Sora got beet red, pressing his hands to his cheeks to make the blush go away.  
  
"Selphie!!" He cried out but eventually started grinning himself.   
  
The brunette girl shrugged and wagged her eyebrows. "Hey, you love him and he loves you. You shouldn't even notice that there's anything besides you. That's how lovers are supposed to be. Totally oblivious to their surroundings." She winked and smiled warmly.   
  
Sora smiled a little, too and slowly nodded. "Maybe..." he murmured. "But I can't help the fact that I care for Kairi. And I don't want Riku to hate her..." he paused, looking out of the window. Then he looked back at Selphie and stared for a while. He sighed and spoke, "It's strange how the relationship between me and Kairi changes all the time. Like a ride on the roller coaster. First I thought I loved her, then I still cared for her but didn't love her, then I hated her for being mean to my Riku, and now I care for her again. Because, somehow, she's, like, the reason for Riku and me being together. Or at least.. I don't know if we'd be together if she hadn't come here."  
  
There was a long time of silence after Sora had stopped talking. For once, Selphie didn't know what to say. She had absolutely no idea of what to say about this.   
  
Suddenly thunder was audible and Selphie jumped slightly.   
  
"Oh...better go home now..." Selphie said, frowning at the weather outside. "...or to Tidus's place..." she grinned.  
  
Sora smiled and nodded, pushing her again, this time gently, towards the door.  
  
"Selphie..." He began, but was cut off by the small girl hugging him.  
  
"You're welcome." She whispered before she pulled away and hopped out of the room.  
  
Sora smiled again and sighed. "Thanks."   
  
It was getting night. A stormy night. A stormy night, alone. Alone, in an empty bed. An empty bed without Riku.  
  
"Rikuuuuu........" Sora whined and started beating himself for making Riku angry. He had every right to be jealous and angry, Sora knew that he shouldn't care for Kairi that much. He just couldn't help it. But Riku was definitely more important than Kairi. Sleeping without Riku was hard enough, but sleeping without him in a stormy night when snuggling and cuddling was the best thing to keep you save, that was simply killing Sora.  
  
~~~  
  
Riku sighed as he felt something warm pressed next to his body. Lazily, one eye opened only to be greeted by the blackness of the night. So it wasn't morning yet. 'Thank God', Riku thought and closed his eye again. He had been angry at Sora all the time and after taking a shower he went to bed, cursing himself to sleep. He was still too tired to care whatever had woke him and somehow his position felt too good to leave it. Idly wondering what was causing that warmth that made his heart relax, he slowly opened his eyes again and blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness. It wasn't completely dark, the light of the moon and the stars was lightening the room pretty well. The storm had stopped and now it was only raining silently. Riku sighed and noticed that there was something on his stomach. He shook his head slightly to wake up and finally realized that Sora was the cause of his comfort. The brunette boy was lying beside him, one arm possessively draped over Riku's stomach.   
  
"Sora..." Riku breathed, a mixture of hurt and happiness washing over him. He was happy that Sora was here beside him, coming here in the middle of the night to be close. It showed that Sora still needed him, no matter how much he cared for Kairi. Kairi, that hateful Kairi. He'd never really liked her. She was always in the way, though he had learned to live with it, now it was killing him to see Sora care for Kairi. Wasn't he supposed to be his boyfriend? So why care about the ex-girlfriend?   
  
Riku felt his mood sink and quickly moved to wrap his arms around Sora, giving him something to hold on. He wouldn't overreact because of this now. Sora had come back to him that was all he needed. He would never go to Kairi to seek comfort. Suddenly Riku felt like he had to do something. Something to show Sora that he loved him more than anyone could ever do. But what should he do? It was in the middle of the night and it was still raining outside. And also, what more was there to do? Riku had done everything he could think of to show Sora how much he loved him.   
  
"...pan...cakes....and..." Sora's mumbling startled Riku and the silver-haired quickly looked at the younger boy. He was sleep talking again. About food.   
  
Riku chuckled and sighed. Somehow the word 'pancake' struck an idea and he carefully crawled out of the bed to get some paper and a pen. Pancakes, something so simple and still delicious. Simple, was the keyword. Riku had to do something simple yet sweet for Sora to get him back for himself.   
  
The silver-haired ripped out a blank page of his diary since it was the only source of paper in this room and took a pen into his hand, walking over to the window where the light was stronger. There, he paused. His brows furrowed together, the cap of the pen was caught between his teeth as he chewed on it thoughtfully. The fingers of his left hand were drumming on the windowsill while the right hand played with the pen. Now what?  
  
Something simple yet sweet.   
  
The silver-haired took a deep breath, spitting the cap out onto the floor and started writing.   
  
"To my best friend in the whole universe." Best friend was the perfect term. Riku figured that Sora could start to feel intimidated by being called lover or something like that. Riku nodded to himself and continued writing a little note for the sleeping boy in his bed and then went to hide it in his pocket. Sora would find it in the morning, read it, and hopefully realize that Riku was the one he should love, not that stupid Kairi.  
  
The silver-haired went back to the bed and carefully sat down beside Sora. He smiled faintly as he traced his index finger over Sora's body. He let his finger trail down Sora's arm, wandering down the hand where he drew a heart, mentally marking him. No one else should have him. No one else *could* have him, because no one could love him like Riku did. Riku loved Sora above all.   
  
"Kai..ri..." Sora shifted and mumbled some more. Riku instantly withdrew his hand as if burned and tensed, deep hurt coming back into his mind. Sora was dreaming about Kairi? "Don't...go..." Sora mumbled again and shifted again, seeming uneasy.   
  
Riku's heart almost shattered into pieces before he decided to flee this situation. He quickly grabbed his coat, put it on and rushed outside into the rain.   
  
The rain wasn't heavy, it was almost gone by now. But Riku could feel every drop push him down, further to the ground, until he was crouching. He tried to find a logic solution to this. Maybe Sora was just randomly talking, it didn't have to be a dream about Kairi. Maybe he was just dreaming of food and somehow...   
  
'No he wasn't.' A voice inside his head scoffed. Why was it so easy to give in to a silly voice? Riku hugged himself and sat down, leaning against the wall of the house. He wouldn't go in there anymore. He couldn't look at Sora, hear him sleep talking about his ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend that said she had a crush on Riku.   
  
Riku shuddered. Then a thought entered his mind. What if Sora still loved Kairi? What if he was really in love in Kairi. It would hurt him like hell if Kairi didn't love him back because she was in love with Riku.  
  
The silver-haired frowned. He didn't want Sora to get hurt, he wanted him to be happy. Even if it meant that he would be with Kairi. But if Kairi refused? Riku felt hatred against Kairi coming up again. Not for being in the way for Sora and him but because he was sure that she would just hurt him.   
  
"Big..fat..cow..with..warts..." Riku muttered, clenching his fists.  
  
~~  
  
Inside, Sora was rolling around in the bed, miraculously managing not to fall out of the bed. He was dreaming, about Kairi. Kairi and Riku, to be precise. In his dream, Kairi screaming at him, telling him to leave her alone because she was in love with Riku.   
  
"But Kairi..." Sora began, trying to stop her from tugging on Riku's arm.   
  
In that dream, Riku smiled at Kairi and scowled at Sora.  
  
"You never treated me right." Riku darkly said. Kairi nodded and glared at Sora.  
  
"Don't go!" Sora called out as the two started fading.   
  
It was one weird dream, but it showed exactly what he was feeling. He felt guilty for making Riku angry and the fact that Kairi had a crush on him only made it worse. What if they got together and turned against him?   
  
Sora woke up with a start and found himself in Riku's bed, only without Riku.  
  
"Riku?" He whispered, trying to focus his eyes. There was no one in this room.   
  
"Riku...." Sora frowned, tears forming in his eyes. As he climbed out of the bed, walking over to his jacket, something fell out as he grabbed it.   
  
He saw a piece of paper with something scribbled on.   
  
Since it was still dark, he moved to the window where the light was stronger and narrowed his eyes to read the note.  
  
"To my best friend in the whole universe." He read out aloud and frowned even more. Riku...  
  
"Sora - I'm not good with poems. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. I wish I could write you the best love poem ever, but I can't. All I can do is watch you while you sleep, looking like an angel. Sometimes I wonder if you've just come here by mistake, you know, angels belong in heaven, not here."  
  
Sora paused to smile as he felt his heart move. This was so much better than any love poem because it was straight from Riku's heart. It was simply Riku. He then went on reading.  
  
"There's not much space left so... FORGET KAIRI! PLEASE! I love you, and no one else can do like I do. I will do anything for you, and you know it. And if you don't love me back I'm going to beat the crap out of you, understood?!"  
  
Sora found himself laughing. He sure hadn't expected that to come, although... it was typical for Riku to throw in something like this.  
  
He then looked further down. "Your laughter is so wonderful. I love you."  
  
Sora closed his eyes and pressed the note to his heart, sighing deeply. "I love you, too..." He whispered. Suddenly something pulled him outside, something in him urged him to go outside although he had no idea why.  
  
Following his inner voice, he put on his jacket and opened the door only to find Riku curled up on the ground, soaking wet. It hadn't been raining too much but everything was still wet.   
  
"Riku?" Sora quietly asked.   
  
The silver-haired flinched but didn't look up. Sora frowned and crouched down to his boyfriend.  
  
"Hey..." He whispered, but Riku didn't answer.   
  
Sora sighed and reached out to take Riku into his arms, locking in a tight embrace. It was a little odd since Riku usually hugged Sora like this. But right now, Riku seemed to need protection and Sora wanted nothing more than giving it to him.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: Praise me! Praise me! PLEAAAAASE! Or "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you, understood?!" ...eehhh...right. Anywayz, like I said I hope you liked this chapter (gods, how often am I going to say that??) and stay tuned for more, hopefully it's coming out faster than this one. (hey it only took me one week...but still, that's tooooo long! heh...) okies I'm in my bed now, can't keep my eyes open....... 


	29. At Ease Again

Author's Ranting: emm...lol... it's really really weird how I always manage to write a new chapter when I actually have, like, ABSOLUTELY NO TIME for it.   
  
Yeah... I cut down the amount of healthy sleep and decided to write the next chapter immediately. I also wrote a new LEMON! Yup, the link is somewhere in the middle of this chappy ^^  
  
I decided to put it there cause actually it is part of the chapter, but since the rating for this fic is PG-13, the lemon is on another site... ok, have fun! ^_^  
  
~~~~  
  
Sora smiled as the rain stopped and the sun was going to rise soon. It was going to be morning soon, and Riku had fallen asleep just a while ago. He was still in Sora's arms since they hadn't moved inside. Riku also hadn't said anything, he just clung to Sora with his head buried in the younger boy's chest - so vulnerable and hurt. The brunette wondered what was wrong with Riku, maybe he had really hurt him too much? But then why this little note?  
  
Sora sighed. This was one complicated situation.   
  
"Do you love Kairi?" a muffled question suddenly came. Sora jerked in surprise but Riku only clung tighter to him, not letting him go at any cost.   
  
Sora frowned and shifted slightly in his position. His legs were in a quite uncomfortable angle right now and Riku was practically squashing him with his weight. How long had Riku been awake?  
  
"Why would I?" He softly replied, wondering where that question had come from. Just because he cared, it didn't mean that he *loved* her, did it?  
  
To Riku, however, it did. Riku had heard Sora sleep talking, saying Kairi's name, saying something like 'don't go', this was just too obvious. Obvious to him, because he didn't know what Sora really had been dreaming.   
  
Riku sighed and finally pulled away from Sora, his eyes fixed on the ground. He didn't want to look at Sora. All the time, he hadn't even looked at his angel for it would've hurt him too much.   
  
"You dream about her. You've been in love with her." Riku quietly muttered, confusing Sora even more.   
  
The younger boy furrowed his brows in confusion, his lower lip quivering slightly and he looked as if he was about to cry. He felt like they were standing on two islands. Sora on the one island, Riku on the other one. And between them there was a huge void full of confusion and misunderstandings. But how the hell were they supposed to cross this void to be together? There was too much confusion to know where to begin.  
  
Riku, who still hadn't looked up, removed his coat and laid it next to himself. It was all soaked, along with his pyjamas and he felt cold even though the weather wasn't that bad anymore. The sun hadn't come up yet, it was only showing itself slightly over horizon, so there was nothing to dry and warm the silver-haired boy.   
  
Sora intently watched him, a little smile crept up his lips. Riku was so beautiful, he was gorgeous. Everything he did was so perfect, even if it was just placing a coat on the ground. Sora knew that he couldn't live without Riku. He would forget everything just to be with Riku. Even Kairi. Even his long time friend, the girl he thought he'd been in love with, the girl that was having a crush on his boyfriend.   
  
"Uh-oh." Sora suddenly muttered. Riku instinctively turned to face Sora and saw the worried look on his face.  
  
But he misinterpreted it and closed his eyes in defeat. "I knew it...so, you want to save Kairi. Sorry for keeping you from your princess..." His voice was bitter and hurt. Sora scratched his head and wrinkled his nose in confusion.  
  
"What? Princess? Riku, what are you--" But he was cut off by the silver-haired leaping up to his feet.  
  
"Go save her, Sora. Be happy with her. I don't care anymore." Oh, it hurt to say these words, and it sure as hell hurt Sora to hear those words. What was wrong between them? It was as though they were talking in two different languages. Nothing Riku said was understandable to Sora, and vice versa.   
  
Riku heard Sora getting up too, since his back was facing Sora so he couldn't see him, and prepared himself to be left alone, left out, just like it had been before. So, the wonderful dream would finally end - it had been too good to be true. Sora, in love with him. Hah. Good one. There was no chance for something like this, not when there was Kairi. Although Riku didn't know what was causing him to doubt Sora's feelings it became stronger and stronger and he almost started to laugh in his bitterness. The last few months were just a dream. And now it was time for a reality check.  
  
Sora didn't see Riku's face twisting in thought but he knew that the silver-haired boy was in pain. But no matter what he said, it would come out wrong, or Riku would get it wrong. There was only one option left.   
  
Actions speak louder.  
  
"Riku." Sora quietly said, getting Riku to turn to him. With one movement, Sora had pounced Riku, pushing him to the ground as he lay on top of him, straddling him.  
  
"You're such an idiot." Sora whispered, leaning down to kiss his lover. Riku was too surprised to respond and simply lay there, his eyes holding so much confusion. Sora pulled away and frowned at him.  
  
"No. We're both idiots." He corrected himself and crushed his lips down to Riku's his hands squeezing his shoulders. Riku shuddered at the pleasure and closed his eyes. Sora's hands started kneading the flesh between his shoulder and his neck, gently kissing him breathless. Riku let out a moan as Sora's delicate fingers caressed him. Since when was Sora the one on top? Riku had no time to wonder as Sora withdrew his lips from Riku's, moving to his ear to give soft bites, whispering 'I love you' into his ear.   
  
And with that, Sora let his actions tell what words couldn't tell.  
  
They were going to clear out the misunderstandings without unnecessary words....  
  
========  
  
***insert extra part! Lemon ahead! don't like, don't read! though you might miss something ^.~***   
  
ok some how this is not working. can't post the url... I'll do it this way:  
  
www.angelfire.com /crazy/ flchan6 / extra.html  
  
use this url without the blank space between the characters  
  
========  
  
The sun was now slowly rising, warming the still damp ground since it had been raining all night. Riku carried Sora back into the house, ushering him into the bathroom.  
  
"And hurry. I wanna shower, too."   
  
Sora grinned and pulled Riku with him. "I'd take too long, I don't want you to wait."  
  
Riku smirked and covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh my God! What have I done to my sweet little innocent Sora?" He had to suppress the urge to laugh as Sora pouted at him, crossing his arms over his chest. His lower lip was quivering again and he seemed really pouty.   
  
"Awww." Riku chirped and moved to embrace Sora from behind. His arms caught Sora's shirt and removed it, undressing the brunette.  
  
"I thought I was supposed to shower." Sora muttered in his child-like voice. Riku smirked and kissed Sora's neck.   
  
"Hey you were the one who dragged me here. I just thought you might need some help..." Riku turned Sora around and winked, raising one suggesting eyebrow.   
  
Sora threw his arms into the air and rolled his eyes heavenwards.   
  
"Riku! We just did it like confused bunnies! I can't even stand on my feet and you--" Riku's lips silenced Sora's whining, turning it into a low purring of contentment. After a few moments Riku pulled away and gently pushed Sora towards the bathtub.   
  
"Go and take a shower. We'll have to get Wakka and Kairi back, remember?"   
  
Sora flinched and all of his playful demeanour vanished. Riku glanced at him as the brunette turned on the water and grabbed the shower curtain. He then stopped, his gaze lifting up to meet Riku's.   
  
"You're...not mad at me, are you?" He quietly asked, almost inaudibly.   
  
Riku snorted. Sora frowned and looked down.   
  
"Sora, I mean, Hello~o!" Riku smacked his forehead. "Do you really think I could be angry with you? And didn't I just show you what I felt? I think I did."  
  
The brunette's cheeks turned pink and he smiled.   
  
"O..okay then." He quietly answered, smiling shyly. That was the cute little Sora Riku remembered and loved. Not that he didn't love his hot and seducing Sora, but this adorable boy was just amazing.   
  
"I love you. And if you don't love me back--"  
  
"Yeah yeah, you're going to beat the crap out of me, I know. I read your note."   
  
Riku blinked and Sora grinned at him. After a few moments of staring a little dazed, Riku gathered his wits and shook his head, his silver hair fluttering with the movement.   
  
"Hurry and shower, you're getting a cold if you stand around naked."   
  
Sora hummed and shrugged, reaching out to pull Riku into the bathtub.   
  
"It's faster if we shower together. And I mean *shower*, nothing else."  
  
Riku chuckled and nodded, removing his clothes.  
  
~~  
  
After the shower, Riku dressed in some fresh clothes whereas Sora had no fresh clothes. He had only his pyjamas and jacket, but since his clothes were all wet from the rain (and something else ^.~) he couldn't wear them anymore. And running to his house naked was not a considerable option.  
  
"Here. Try this." Riku handed Sora a pile of clothes. "It's probably a little too big but that's the only thing I have."   
  
Sora took the clothes and tried them on, inhaling the scent of Riku as he put on the shirt.   
  
"Mmm...." Sora smiled and looked at his reflection in the mirror. It looked funny, seeing himself in Riku's clothes. They were a little too big but it wasn't that bad since Sora had grown a little.  
  
"You look great." Riku commented, smiling at Sora. "Although... I like you better without these clothes." He smirked.   
  
Sora rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out, diverting his attention back to the mirror. It looked so strange, wearing Riku's clothes. But he felt so good, so safe. It felt like having a part of Riku with him.   
  
"Let's go. We should get Kairi and Wakka back." Riku startled him out of his thoughts and Sora turned to see the silver-haired extending his hand to him.  
  
Sora took it and nodded.   
  
"Just because I care for her it doesn't mean that I love her...." Sora murmured as they walked out. Riku sighed and shrugged.   
  
"Hey, forget it, I'm over it." But inside he still wondered why he had said her name while sleeping.  
  
"I had this dream, you know..." Sora began, just as though he was reading Riku's mind. The silver-haired frowned and listened to what Sora had to say. After a short while of silence, Sora spoke up.  
  
"You and Kairi, you were standing there...and Kairi told me to leave her alone. I...I just wanted to apologize, you know, cause...cause did you ever wonder what it would have been like if she never came here? Would you've ever taught me how to kiss? Would we've turned out like this? Before she was there, we were best friends. What if....we had stayed best friends? So somehow, it's because of Kairi that we are together now..."  
  
Sora's voice was so quiet, almost as if he didn't want Riku to hear it, as if he was afraid to speak loud.   
  
Riku frowned as the words sank in. Maybe Sora was right.  
  
"In my dream...she yelled at me. She hated me. And I wanted to apologize. But then you were there, with her. You went with her, you said I never treated you right. She was taking you away from me... and no matter what I did... I called out to you, I told you not to go but you just faded along with her."  
  
Sora paused, giving Riku time to think about the dream. He suddenly realized that this dream was exactly what he had heard. Sora said Kairi in his sleep, probably because he was trying to talk to her. And he said 'don't go', because he didn't want her to take Riku away.   
  
"Ohh....." Riku felt like a complete moron now.   
  
"What?" Sora asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.  
  
"I. am. a. moron." Riku emphasized every word with a smack on his forehead.   
  
Sora giggled and leaned up to give Riku a kiss on the forehead.  
  
"I know." He smirked. "But you're *my* moron."   
  
Riku blinked and then laughed along with Sora, happy to have this misunderstanding solved.   
  
On their way to the boat they met up with Selphie and Tidus who were already waiting for them.  
  
"Took you long enough! It's already past 7 AM!" Selphie scolded while Tidus rubbed his eyes. "7 AM, Selph. The sun just came up, why do we have to get up this early?" The blonde whined.  
  
Selphie grinned and bounced up and down, hyper as ever. "You have to start the day as early as possible or else you might miss something! There is soo much to do!" She was practically jumping like a rubber ball while singing some weird song. Tidus just sighed and yawned. He was energetic, alright, but Selphie was far above his level.   
  
Suddenly Selphie stopped and looked Sora. She wrinkled her nose and looked closer. He looked different.   
  
The brunette girl turned to Riku and gave him a questioning look. "Why is he wearing your clothes?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Riku blushed slightly and started muttering something. "He..uh...we..got a little...dirty.." He said and shrugged, glancing over to Sora who was blushing furiously.   
  
"Hah!" Selphie pointed a finger at Sora and squealed. "So I'm right! You *did* it!" She bounced around happily and hugged Sora.   
  
"I'm soo happy for you two! I thought you were going to have a big fight just because I forgot about Kairi but seems like you didn't!" She giggled and took Tidus hands, spinning around with him.  
  
"What a great start for a beautiful day!" She sang while laughing. Tidus found himself laughing too, although he was really really tired.  
  
Sora simply stood there with flushed cheeks and Riku rolled his eyes at Selphie. "Let's go." He barked, taking Sora's hand to pull him towards their boat.  
  
"Selphie, Tidus, you take a boat together. And Sora and me take one, so that we have two. I don't want to end up being on a deserted island because *someone* took the boat."   
  
Selphie giggled and nudged Riku. "Wouldn't that be great for you? You and Sora alone on an island, nobody there to disturb you?"   
  
Sora obviously heard that and turned a deep shade of red while Riku glared at her despite his smirk. "Maybe." He coolly answered and pulled Sora with him into the boat.  
  
"You have to go first so we can follow. I have no idea where this island is." Riku said and Selphie nodded, hopping into the boat with Tidus.   
  
They rowed ahead and Riku and Sora followed. Sora watched Riku's arms contradicting as he rowed, the sun shining down on him like headlights. The water splashing against the boat sent some drops onto Riku's bare arms that slowly ran down onto his hands. Sora loved watching Riku, especially when doing something like this. He was just too sexy.   
  
Riku noticed Sora watching him and smirked. "Be careful with the drool." He teased, winking at an immediately blushing Sora who quickly went to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
Riku laughed out loud and shook his head. "I was joking about the drool."   
  
Sora stopped in mid action and removed his hand, sticking his tongue out. Riku sighed dreamily and looked directly into Sora's eyes.   
  
"Stop showing me your lovely tongue or I'll stop rowing and take you right here."   
  
Sora smirked and stuck his tongue out further, making grimaces while doing so. Riku rolled his eyes and eventually burst into laughter, trying hard to keep going. They had to stay behind Tidus and Selphie or else they'd get lost.   
  
But then again, getting lost with Sora wasn't that bad. At least they had each other so they wouldn't be alone, and there was no chance of someone disturbing them. Somehow Selphie was right....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: SoraxRiku forever. And RikuxSora forever. ^_^ I hope you all liked it and now I really won't update for a while I guess (a while means a week, maximum) cause I really have to study now. So, stay tuuuuuned as always and thank you thank you thank you for the nice reviews, please give me more if you want! ^_^ 


	30. Find Kairi

Author's Ranting: whoa thankfully I got to write this down. I almost felt like having a writers block again and I was so busy playing Kingdom Hearts for the upteenth time because I needed inspiration! Well, well, here's the next chapter! ALREADY 30!!! unbelieveable.   
  
I just hope this chapter is ok, I wasn't really into it today.......  
  
~~~~  
  
After a lot of pauses where the two boys just had to make out, they eventually reached the island on which Kairi and Wakka were stranded. It was a rather small island compared to the Destiny Island. The shore was beautifully lit by the sunlight and a few feet behind the sandy ground a forest covered the island. So basically the whole island was one huge forest with a little beach as connection to the water.  
  
Sora stretched and yawned. "Man, that was tiring."   
  
Riku snorted and lightly smacked the back of Sora's head. "You're the one to talk," he scoffed, "You didn't have to row!"  
  
Sora grinned sheepishly and shrugged, using his 'I'm-so-cute-so-please-forgive-me' look on his boyfriend. It worked. Riku leaned closer and grabbed Sora's arm. He leaned to Sora's ear and whispered, "As soon as we've got Kairi back, I'll make sure you're really tired."  
  
Sora grinned even more as Riku pulled away and rubbed his hands. "Good! Let's find Kairi! Hurry, hurry!"   
  
Riku found himself laughing and once again wondered if his little Sora was becoming worse and worse. Maybe he would start to be on top? Last time had been close....  
  
"Look! A corpse!" Selphie suddenly squealed and started to jump up and down with her hands pointing towards something lying in the sand. Tidus turned to look and blinked in surprise.   
  
"Selphie, he's not dead!" The blonde narrowed his eyes and looked a little closer. He wrinkled his nose. "But he looks pretty beaten up....."  
  
Riku and Sora ran over to poor Wakka and stared at him in question. An animal couldn't have done that to him. The black eye had been caused by a human. The scratches could have been from animals, though. All in all, Wakka looked like a horde of furious beasts had attacked him, which wasn't totally wrong, since *one* furious beast had attacked him. Kairi.  
  
"Wakka?" Sora bent down and poked his seemingly unconscious friend.   
  
"Ow!" The redhead's eyes snapped open and he glared at Sora. "That hurt, ya! Don't do that again."   
  
Sora blinked and exchanged a look with Riku. Riku exchanged a look with Selphie. Selphie exchanged a look with Tidus. Tidus rolled his eyes and helped Wakka up.  
  
"What happened? Got attacked?" The young boy asked as he inspected Wakka's injuries.   
  
The older boy shook his head and looked towards the forest. "I think Kairi is in there. I couldn't get up and follow her but she's all alone, maybe *she* got attacked."  
  
"...wouldn't bother anyone..." Selphie quietly muttered. Sora gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, let's find her," she unenthusiastically said.   
  
Riku looked at Wakka's beaten body and immediately recognized the attacker. Only Kairi, the psycho-fury, could do things like that.   
  
"How about we split up? Everyone goes into another direction, someone just has to find Kairi then."   
  
Selphie shrugged at Tidus' suggestion and Sora and Riku nodded.  
  
"In one hour we'll meet here again. The one who has found Kairi brings her here, ok?"   
  
Everyone nodded. Tidus smiled and proudly crossed his arms. He was being a great leader. "Good, now go."  
  
Selphie groaned for she had absolutely no interest in seeing Kairi again and Riku noticed. He smirked and went over to the little girl, patting her head.  
  
"If you find her, I'll buy you an ice-cream."   
  
That immediately struck something in Selphie's brain and she looked at Riku with big eyes. "Promise??"  
  
Riku nodded. Selphie started to bounce and squealed. "I want five different flavours and I want whipped cream on top with a cherry and I want waffles, too and..."  
  
Sora started to drool as he heard Selphie's vivid descriptions and impatiently bounced up and down.  
  
"C'mon, let's go! Let's do it like this: We all spilt up and look for Kairi, and the person who finds her gets to eat the ice-cream Riku's going to buy! Ok?"   
  
Selphie's head snapped into the brunette's boy direction and she glared. "Good. But you won't get anything because I'm going to find her first!" She had such a determined look that Sora felt like glaring back at her as though she was an enemy.  
  
"We'll see who the winner is!" Sora spat, his mind already fixed on the delicious sweets he would get as the winner.  
  
Riku stared in disbelief and scratched his head. "Um, guys... What if *I* find her first?"   
  
Both brunettes glared daggers at him, Riku was glad they didn't have any weapons with them, or else they might have attacked him right away.  
  
The silver haired boy sweat dropped and backed away. "Let--let's just find Kairi."   
  
With that, the two teens dashed away, towards the forest, both only thinking about the ice cream and not about Kairi.  
  
Tidus grinned and shrugged sympathetically at Riku who was tearing his hair out in frustration. Selphie and Sora were such gluttons.   
  
"Well, you should go to look for Kairi, too. I'll stay with Wakka," Tidus said and waved at the silver haired boy away.   
  
Rolling his eyes, Riku turned and took a deep breath. He had to find Kairi first so he wouldn't have to pay for all the sweets his Sora or Selphie wanted. They could be expensive when it came to food.  
  
~~  
  
Riku made his way through the forest which actually seemed like a wild jungle. There were vines and huge colourful plants everywhere, and it wouldn't have surprised him if there were any strange animals on this island. The beach looked nice and romantic when the sunlight lightened the scenery, but being in that jungle was as romantic as---  
  
"Ahhh!"   
  
A high-pitched shriek stopped Riku's train of thoughts and he spun around, scanning the area for the source of the voice.   
  
His eyes caught the sight of something pink - definitely Kairi. He ran over to her, not caring how much he hated her, to save her from whatever caused her to scream. As he got there, he found Kairi staring at one of her fingers, sobbing.  
  
Riku frowned and peered at her face. She was staring in horror.  
  
"K-Kairi? Are you alright?"   
  
The girl sobbed and wrapped her left hand around her right index finger.  
  
"There was a bug and...my nail broke off and then--"   
  
As she noticed who she was talking to she immediately stopped her bitchy behaviour and hid her hands behind her back. Riku stared blankly at her.  
  
"Oh, Riku. Sorry. I..." She narrowed her eyes at the boy. "What are you doing here?" she asked, looking totally puzzled.   
  
The silver haired boy shrugged and reached to take her hand. "We're here to get you home."  
  
Kairi jerked away. "We?"  
  
Riku rolled his eyes. Why did *he* have to find Kairi? He had absolutely no desire to deal with that psycho girl. And now she was just being really dense.   
  
"Sora. Selphie. Tidus. Me. WE."  
  
Kairi must have noticed that Riku was a little pissed off since she decided to shut up and simply follow Riku as he led her through the forest. The silver haired boy had a firm grip around Kairi's wrist, while he silently stomped through the wire of plants. Kairi stumbled every now and then and blushed furiously whenever she nearly bumped into Riku. She still had a crush on him, even after spending the night thinking over things, she just couldn't change it.   
  
"You and Sora are still together, huh?"   
  
Riku tightened his grip and Kairi heard something similar to a beast's low growl.   
  
"Yes," he bit out between clenched teeth.   
  
Kairi squirmed under Riku's iron grip and cursed herself for making him angry. Although... 'He looks extremely cute when he's angry...'   
  
"No!" She suddenly screamed, covering her head with her hands and pulling Riku's hand with hers. Riku groaned and violently pulled his hand back.  
  
"Dammit, Kairi! Can you please *stop* acting like a complete psycho?!" He yelled, his blood boiling with anger. His eyes were blazing like fire and it almost seemed as though the usually calm and laid-back Riku was going to explode in pure rage.  
  
"At first you're mad at me 'cause Sora leaves you for me! Then you say you're in love with *me* and beat me up! And as if that wasn't enough you even had to beat up Wakka, why, I don't know! I mean, hello, is there any logic in your actions or are you just acting without using that little thing called brain that you're supposed to have?! What is going on in your hollow skull?!"   
  
He clenched his fist and violently thrust it against a tree, so hard that the tree started to shake. Riku exhaled and withdrew his fist, trying hard to calm down.   
  
Kairi just kind of stood there and stared. Partially in horror and fear of Riku, but mostly because he was so extremely sexy when he was angry. She just couldn't stop staring at the way his body trembled with rage, the sweat glistening on his forehead, his soft aqua eyes burning fiercely. There was no way to deny that Riku was simply gorgeous.   
  
"I don't hate you, Kairi." Riku suddenly said, his voice cool and calm again. He stopped trembling and straightened himself.   
  
"I really don't hate you, because no matter what you do, Sora will always care for you. And if he cares, I will, too. The only thing that's bothering me is, that you are absolutely unpredictable. I can't trust you and I can't see how Sora can still trust you."   
  
He slowly turned to face the girl behind him. Kairi was still staring at him in admiration, and Riku noticed the strange expression on her face. It reminded him of Sora's expression whenever he was undressing or at least taking off his shirt.   
  
"Oh no," he muttered as he realized that Kairi was going to drool soon.  
  
"Kairi..." Why did she have to have a crush on him? He didn't want it. He felt exposed when she was watching him, almost as if she was undressing him with her eyes. 'Oh Gods, no...' Riku thought to himself and subconsciously moved his arms to hug himself.   
  
"Kairi, come on." He quietly said, a little scared as he saw that Kairi didn't react. 'Here goes the psycho girl...'   
  
Riku felt more and more uncomfortable with Kairi staring at him and desperately looked for an escape. Just in time, Selphie arrived to the rescue.  
  
"Hah! Found her! Found heeeeeerrr!" The girl squealed in excitement and Kairi snapped out of her trance. She looked frantically and frowned at the bouncing yellow thing in front of her.   
  
"Rikuuu, Rikuuu! I won! I won! I'll get the ice cream, right? Right? Righty?!" Selphie was spluttering like a waterfall, too excited about her ice cream to notice that Kairi was running away again. Riku saw the girl leaving but was too occupied to get Selphie off his back.   
  
"Ice-cream! Ice-cream!" The girl continued to squeal right into Riku's ear and the boy asked himself what he had done wrong to deserve this.  
  
~~~  
  
Tidus and Wakka were waiting at the beach. One hour was almost over so someone had to come back with Kairi soon.  
  
"What happened between you and Kairi anyway?" Tidus asked, sitting beside Wakka.  
  
The redhead heaved a long sigh and shrugged. "She's insane, ya."   
  
Tidus chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, that's what Selphie said. You believe that, too?"  
  
Wakka nodded enthusiastically. "She's in love with Riku and she's totally confused now. But she's really dangerous like this, ya!" Wakka pointed at the several scratches he had received from the fury. Tidus winced. It even hurt just by looking at them.  
  
"I wonder what made her turn into this. She's been a nice girl." Tidus absently murmured, remembering the time Sora, Riku and Kairi had been a trio. They had been best friends and everyone was nice to one another.  
  
"Girls." Wakka stated, making a dismissing motion.  
  
Tidus grinned. "They always get like this when they're this age."  
  
The boys chuckled and shook their heads. Girls were the greatest riddle of the universe.  
  
~~~  
  
The hour passed and Sora came strolling back. He hadn't found Kairi, instead he got caught up in an endless wire of vines and a huge meat eating plant. This day couldn't get any worse.  
  
Riku and Selphie came back too, neither of them was with Kairi, so nobody had found her.   
  
"Kairi's not here?" Sora asked.   
  
Riku crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "Well, I found her but then *someone* had to jump on my back and squeal into my ear and she ran away."  
  
Selphie smiled sweetly and blew Riku a kiss. Riku grimaced. "Ugh, please, Selphie." The brunette girl giggled and stuck out her tongue.   
  
"I want my ice-cream, Riku! I'll torture you until I get it!"   
  
The silver-haired boy groaned and threw his head into his hands. "Can it get any worse?" he muttered, his voice muffled by his hands.  
  
Sora sighed. He was feeling exactly the same. This day couldn't get worse. While Selphie and the others were joking around, Sora went a few feet away from them. He was really worried about Kairi. The jungle wasn't very safe, especially not for a girl like Kairi. Something could happen to her, and he would blame himself for not saving her. No matter what she had done to him and Riku, Kairi was still someone he wanted to protect.  
  
His eyes darted around the area and eventually landed on a tree not too far away. There was a person sitting on it, and as Sora looked closer he could see that it was Kairi.   
  
His eyes widened and he narrowed them to make sure that it was really Kairi and not his imagination.   
  
There she was sitting, back leaned against the trunk while her legs were resting on a branch. Sora couldn't see her face for she was too far away, but somehow he felt that she wasn't all too happy.   
  
Maybe he should go and talk to her?   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: hmm R&R as always and thank you so much for those really constructive reviews! I hope I'll get the grammar right (english's not my main language after all) so please bear with me 


	31. Gloves And Strawberry Shampoo

Author's Ranting: new chapterrrrr! bah, I'm not in the mood for problems with Kairi, so I'll just have this chapter now... Kairi WILL be a psychotic freak that causes trouble, but I won't have her bothering anyone right now hehe... okies, read the chapter, have fun and remember... RIKU IS HOT O_O *drools*  
  
~~~~  
  
"Don't even think about it."   
  
Sora jerked at the voice and spun around to meet Selphie's scowling face.   
  
"S-Selphie?"   
  
How had she gotten here without Sora noticing her? She had just been joking around with Tidus...  
  
"The reason why I started pestering Riku was because I saw him and Kairi going through the forest. Sora, stop thinking about her, she's a psycho. I know it, Riku knows it, even Wakka's figured it out now! Why can't you just accept it? She doesn't even like you anymore. Just leave her on this island."  
  
Selphie sounded so serious, it almost frightened Sora. But somehow, in the back of his mind, a little voice told him that Selphie was right. Kairi had done so many things to separate Riku and him, they would never be in peace with her around. But could he really just leave her on this forsaken island all by herself? This was a jungle, and Kairi wasn't exactly Miss Outdoors.   
  
"I can't," Sora quietly murmured, frowning slightly. Selphie groaned and lightly smacked Sora's head.  
  
"We'll leave a boat here. If she wants to return, she'll come back eventually. I think she needs some time alone now, that's the best for her and for us."  
  
The brunette girl gave Sora a meaningful look before starting to tug on his shirt. Sora, a little surprised by Selphie's antics, blinked in confusion.  
  
"He-hey, what are you doing?"   
  
Selphie continued tugging and pulling until Sora pushed her away, annoyed. "What was that supposed to be?" he demanded, one eyebrow raised.  
  
The girl grinned and shrugged. "It's just that you look funny in Riku's clothes. They're too big for you."   
  
Sora immediately blushed, realizing that he had totally forgotten about the unusual clothes. They felt so comfortable that he didn't even think about them.  
  
"Weird. But it looks so cute on you." Selphie giggled. Sora's cheeks got flushed and he twiddled his thumbs in embarrassment. Just in that moment he remembered seeing Kairi sitting on the tree and his eyes went back to look at her again. She was gone. Sora scanned the area but the girl was nowhere in sight. She must have walked away while Selphie was talking to him.  
  
"She's gone..." Sora's lips formed a pout and he furrowed his brows.   
  
"See? She doesn't even want us to find her! We'll just leave her, she's going to come back after a while, I'm sure." The brunette girl did her best to cheer Sora up and smiled brightly at him. Magically, Sora found himself smiling, too and he nodded.   
  
"Okay. We leave your boat here for her and get back with the other boat."   
  
Selphie made a squealing noise and jumped into the air with delight. "Alright!" She hoped that she was going to get her ice cream once they got back home. Riku always held his promises, especially when Selphie was the one whom he had promised something, since she could be so damn annoying.   
  
Sora went back to the others where Tidus and Wakka were sitting in the sand, talking to Riku.   
  
As Sora reached them he sighed and smiled sheepishly. "Well, sorry about today. We should have left Kairi right here. I guess we all go home now and leave Selphie's boat here for Kairi to get back if she wants."  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow as he stood with his arms crossed. However, he didn't say anything. Sora merely looked at him, stared into his eyes, and then turned away to Wakka.  
  
"We should really treat your wounds. Kairi's been really brutal this time..."   
  
The redhead shrugged and started walking towards the boat. Tidus trailed after him, Sora following. Riku was still standing there and Selphie bounced up to him. Her smile turned into a mischievous smirk as she approached the silver haired boy.  
  
"All done. I talked to Sora, now that psycho fury is out of his head and you'll have him for yourself without having to fear that he thinks of her!"  
  
Riku backed away as Selphie started bouncing happily but the brunette caught his hand, causing him to bounce involuntarily with her.  
  
"Isn't it great? Leave it to the great Selphie! Tee-hee!"   
  
Riku smiled and nodded, Selphie was right. Leave it to Selphie and all your problems are solved. Temporarily, at least.   
  
"So..." Selphie calmed down and became serious again, although she was still smiling. "We take your boat and leave mine here so Kairi can return if she wants to. That, of course, means that you can't make out while we're on the boat...." She winked and chuckled.   
  
"But I'm sure you'll have much more fun later today, right?"   
  
The corners of Riku's lips twitched. "What's with everybody? You're all turning into hentai-monsters. Sora's the same as you, if not worse..."  
  
Selphie started giggling and pointed at the brunette boy in the boat. "You made him wear your clothes, that means he's completely yours. Maybe he's starting to claim you as his?" She wagged her eyebrows suggestively and Riku flushed a little. 'Claim me as his...' Sora would probably really stop being submissive. Maybe that was just fair...  
  
"Hey! Riku! Selphie! What's wrong? Would you come now?" Sora's annoyed voice called over.   
  
Riku smirked. "I'll come if you make me!" he called back, Selphie laughing her head off.   
  
Sora snorted and shrugged, daring Riku. This was going to be like the old times, both fighting over dominance in their rivalry.  
  
~~~  
  
Kairi was still in the jungle as she heard the voices of Riku and the others. They were leaving, leaving her alone on this island. She couldn't say that she wasn't glad. In fact, she was thankful to be left alone for once. Maybe she could forget about Riku if she didn't see him for a while.  
  
And she could use the time alone, scheming some new plans to hurt Sora.   
  
She didn't exactly know where that desire to hurt Sora had come from, but she wanted him to suffer. Riku was not at fault anymore, Riku was the bright angel that she worshiped, now. Sora, however, was the stupid ex-boyfriend, that had left her because of his best friend, which happened to be her current crush. So, Sora was the bad guy. Sora had to suffer. (A/N: Kairi's got such a simple brain....[I just have to bash her now])  
  
Kairi growled evilly as she thought of something. Just in that moment a huge bird flew by, making a deafening noise. Kairi covered her head and shrieked like the sissy she was. How long would she stand it to be in this jungle? What if she broke another one of her precious nails? Or what if her hair clothes got dirty? It would be the end of the world if Princess Kairi got soiled.  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku were back home, Selphie waved them goodbye as she ran off with Tidus and Wakka to aid the redhead. The two boys went to Sora's home since they still hadn't moved together. Maybe they would just alternate between staying at Riku's and Sora's place.   
  
Being in Sora's house, they were alone again, Riku getting a little nervous about the looks Sora was giving him and his...hands?  
  
"What are you staring at?" The silver haired boy asked.   
  
Sora titled his head to one side and started to chew on his lower lips. He was intensely staring at Riku's gloved hands.   
  
"Sora?" Riku asked, starting to get a little worried. First Kairi had been staring strangely at him and now Sora? At least Sora was allowed to stare at him like this. But why at his hands?  
  
"What's wrong with my hands?" He asked, frowning in deep worry.   
  
Sora narrowed his eyes and continued chewing on his lip. A long time of silence followed and Riku held his breath, waiting for his friend to answer.   
  
"...Do you know that those gloves are really sexy?" Sora suddenly blurted out.  
  
It took awhile for Sora's statement to sink in and Riku blinked rapidly. "...What?"  
  
Sora titled his head to the other side and then looked up at Riku, his concentrated expression turning to a grin.   
  
"Your gloves make you look so sexy! I never realized but they start from the middle of your hand-- and the black leather looks so tight...." the younger boy trailed off, staring fascinated again.  
  
Riku was still blinking in surprise and moved one of his hands up to look at it himself.   
  
"Can I try them on?" Sora suddenly said, surprising Riku even more than before.  
  
"Um, what?" The silver-haired boy asked in disbelief.   
  
Sora made a pouty face and looked at Riku with pleading eyes. Riku couldn't resist and shrugged, taking off his gloves, handing them to Sora.  
  
The younger boy grinned and put them on. "Do I look sexy now?" He asked with a huge grin.  
  
Riku was, to say at least, in utter confusion and simply nodded. It was true, Sora was sexy, with or without gloves.  
  
Sora started laughing and handed the gloves back to their owner. "Sorry," he said between laughter, "It's just that I've always wanted to be like you, when I was little, you know..."   
  
Riku began to smile at the memory of little Sora trying to imitate him. It was true, the boy had always seen Riku as his role model.   
  
"And since I'm wearing your clothes right now, I thought maybe the gloves would make me look more like you....so cool..."   
  
Riku saw Sora's soft cheeks get pink and smiled even more at the sight. Sora was cool, in a way, but not as cool as he was cute. The older boy had always admired Sora for his cuteness.  
  
"Sora, you're so adorable." He softly said, closing the distance between them to kiss him, but Sora pulled away in time and smirked wickedly.  
  
"Nuh-uh. Today, Sora is not adorable. Today, Sora is hot!" he laughed, grinning at Riku. The silver-haired boy chuckled and shrugged, winking at Sora.   
  
"Fine, be that way. But are you sure you're able to top me?" His voice held a teasing tone, just like back then when they were still rivals. They still were, in a way.   
  
Sora stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms. "Yes I am. You'll see when I've got you all tied and gagged!"   
  
An odd image flashed in Riku's mind and he quickly dismissed it, shuddering from it. He was *not* going to give in to Sora. If there was anyone tied and gagged, then Sora, but not Riku. He wouldn't lose to him.  
  
"Don't be so sure about that. I won't go easy on you."   
  
Their talk soon turned into random bragging and Riku eventually had enough of it.  
  
"Sora, just shut up, will ya?" Riku muttered as he cupped the younger boy's face and started kissing him.   
  
"Mhnn!" Sora started to protest but Riku already had the upper hand, his tongue making its way through Sora's mouth. The younger boy squirmed as he tried to struggle but soon decided to give up and let Riku have his fun. He would show Riku what he could do, but he would do it some other time. Right now he decided to just enjoy Riku's gestures.   
  
Sora let himself being pushed down onto the bed and closed his eyes, relaxing completely.  
  
After a while of kissing and caressing Riku pulled away and looked as though he was thinking. Sora opened his eyes and stared expectantly at the silver haired, waiting for him to say something or continue with the caress.  
  
Riku, however, reached out and began to run his hand through Sora's hair. A strange smile crept up his lips and he leaned down to Sora's ear. Riku's breath tickled Sora a little and made him chuckle slightly. He closed his eyes again and enjoyed the warm feeling around him.  
  
"...Can I wash your hair?"   
  
Sora's eyes snapped open as he heard the weirdest request ever. He blankly stared up at the ceiling and felt Riku kissing his ear gently.   
  
"Can I?" The silver-haired boy whispered, lapping at the earlobe. Sora shuddered and let out a sigh of pleasure. Riku pulled away to look at Sora and waited for him to answer. The younger boy stared up at Riku and eventually began to laugh.   
  
Riku looked a little confused and crossed his arms. "What?" he asked, imitating Sora's adorable pouty face.  
  
Sora shook his head and waved him off. "Sorry - I mean, sure, you can wash my hair," he chuckled and smiled at Riku, "but do you know that we're really, really weird?" His voice sounded so childlike and young that Riku wanted to hug him until he couldn't breathe.   
  
But Sora was right, they *were* kind of weird, Riku noted. First Sora wanted to try on Riku's gloves and now Riku wanted to wash Sora's hair. If any of their friends had seen this they would probably think that they had gone crazy. But Riku didn't care, he had the urge to run his hands through Sora's hair, Sora's wet hair, he wanted to massage the skull, he wanted to feel Sora.  
  
"So what?" Riku casually replied and extended his hand to pull Sora up. They went into the bathroom and Riku began to roam through the small room to get all kinds of shampoo.   
  
"What do we need all the shampoo for? One is enough..." Sora said as he sat on the edge of the bathtub, arms crossed in a childish way.   
  
Riku shrugged and placed all the different shampoos on the other side of the bathtub.   
  
"Choose which one you want." He pointed at the different bottles and Sora raised his eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"You got this many?" He looked closer and started snickering. "You have strawberry shampoo?"   
  
Riku rolled his eyes and scowled. "So what?! It's good!" He insisted, slightly embarrassed about the fact that Sora was laughing at his shampoo.   
  
"It's good? Well, then I think I'll choose this," Sora said, smiling brightly at Riku. The silver-haired boy mumbled something unintelligible and eventually nodded.   
  
"Good. Now sit down there..." He gestured Sora to sit down on the chair he had brought in and Sora obeyed. He was sitting in front of the mirror now, and Riku went to stand behind him, taking a glass of warm water into his hand.   
  
"It's not cold water, is it?" Sora quickly asked before Riku spilled it over his hair.   
  
"Nope, it's warm." The older boy smiled at Sora's relieved expression. He never thought Sora would be worried over cold water. When Sora's spiky hair was wet, Riku squeezed some of the shampoo into his palm and started spread it in the younger boy's brown hair. The scent of strawberries filled the room and Sora moaned quietly as Riku's hands worked at his hair. It felt good.  
  
The hands were kneading, the fingers drawing small circles on Sora's head. The younger boy closed his eyes and smiled, his lips slightly parted to let those wonderful sighs and moans escape.   
  
Riku smiled at Sora's antics and increased the pressure on his head, in a gentle and loving way. He's always wanted to do that, for some odd reason, he was really fascinated in Sora's hair. Touching it was fascinating. Adding another glass of water, Riku continued shampooing Sora's hair until the brown mass was covered in bubbles and foam.   
  
"Awww..." Riku chirped, looking at Sora through the mirror. The younger boy opened his eyes and looked at himself, seeing his pouting face under a mass of bubbles.   
  
"Shut up and continue!" he whined, looking extremely adorable.   
  
"Aw of course, sweetheart," Riku chided with a grin and reached down to pat Sora's cheek, causing him to pout even more. After that, Riku continued the massage, spoiling Sora in every way possible, while Sora enjoyed every second of it, without even once thinking of Kairi.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending Notes: I just had to put the thing about Riku's gloves in. I mean...he looks so hot with them! I love his gloves... errr okies, liked this chapter? Any death-threads or hate-mail? I'm kinda bored, so feel free to tell me what's on your mind ^_^ 


	32. Sappy Birthday

Author's Ranting: Oh how wonderful, Kairi is on another Island, all lost in the jungle *laugh evilly* eh right. so this means everyone can live in peace, now, right? yayness! oh, guess what! Riku's birthday is approaching! Yup, since he's a year older than Sora and Sora already turned 15, Riku's birthday has to be soon, ne? well then, read this chappy to find out what happens! 

Oh and about the question from Blue Narfs... well... I have no idea where that shampoo idea came from...heh sorry, I really don't know. Most ideas just come to my mind without any deeper meaning ^^'' Maybe it's just Riku's hair, you know he just has to have some hair fetish...I mean just look at *his* hair, I bet he spends hours to treat his hair...lol or is that natural beauty? well, we'll never know...

WARNING: major sap and fluff, you won't find much plot here, just some sappy romance ^^  
ooh and I used, like, 3 songs for this fic. the lyrics are in _italics_.... 

~~~~ 

Two days had passed, going by quite uneventful and there had been no sign from Kairi. Not that anyone cared. Tidus and Wakka were busy playing Blitzball, Selphie had her own business to mind, which usually meant annoying Sora and Riku and telling them how cute they were, and Sora and Riku spent their time in wonderful kairi-less bliss. Sora was back in his own clothes although hehad struggled to take Riku's clothes off, saying something about not being hot anymore. Riku had laughed the entire time and was all in all just too happy, that Kairi was gone, to care about anything. Because of all the stress they had been through, they all started to relax completely in their kairi-less time and nobody seemed to realize that Riku's birthday was approaching, not even Riku himself. 

The morning of the third kairi-less day. "Rikuuuuuuuuuuu!" Loud yelling from outside his bedroom caused the silver haired boy to fall nearly off the bed in surprise. Was it already morning? He couldn't quite remember when and how he had fallen asleep. He and Sora had been watching TV, all huddled up on the couch. Somehow he must have gotten to bed and fallen asleep. 

"Riku! Riku! Riku!" That yelling voice sounded awfully like Sora, only he could whine like that. 

"What?" Riku called back, too lazy to actually get out of bed. He looked at the clock which said that it was already noon. What had they been doing last night? He honestly couldn't remember. Fact was, that he felt like he was having a hang-over. Not that he'd ever had a hang-over but if he'd had one it would have felt like this, he was sure. 

While the silver haired boy was in thoughts, the door swung open, revealing a grinning Sora. Ok, so he grinned quite often but this time he looked like his face was going to burst. 

"Happy Birthday!" The younger boy squealed, jumping right into the bed, landing on Riku. 

The older boy blinked and moved his arm to run a hand through his hair which was rather difficult with Sora hanging around his neck. 

"Uh..." Somehow he seemed a little out of it, he couldn't even remember what day it was. 

"Today's your birthday, Riku! Have you forgotten? Man, I shouldn't have given you that stuff Selphie told me...." 

Suddenly a flash of memory came back and Riku cringed. Last night they had been watching TV, Sora contently cuddling with Riku...until the younger boy jumped up to get something to drink. He had given Riku a glass of something which he didn't quite recognize but drank it anyway. After that, everything went black. 

"What the hell did you do? Drug me?" The silver haired teen asked in confusion. He sure felt like it. Head throbbing, memory blurred... 

Sora's brows furrowed together, his lower lip stuck out to a pout. "I needed you to sleep. And Selphie said it was just something to make you relax...." 

Oh right, Selphie and her ideas. Riku rolled his eyes, noting that Sora's arms were still around his neck, making the younger boy hang there like choker. 

"Uhn...." the silver haired began, "why did you want me to sleep?" The thought of Sora, um, kind of *using* him while he was out of it, entered his mind for a second but he quickly pushed the thought away. Sora wouldn't actually do that, would he? 

Sora merely smiled. "Hey, Selphie and the others are coming over in a few hours. I'll make her apologize for this stupid idea, ok?" 

Riku shrugged and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, ok, but why did you drug me?" 

That was Sora's cue to jump up and smile brightly, brighter as the brightest sun. "I had to make your present," he happily declared. Riku raised his eyebrows and rubbed his temple. 

"My present?" 

Sora nodded happily and held up his hand. "Wait a second! I'll get it now, ok? Don't move!" With that, Sora was already out of the door, leaving Riku wondering what was going on. Selphie's drug must have been really strong. 

A few moments later, Sora was back, holding Riku's wooden sword in his hands. "Okay, part one of your present!" Sora held out the sword, gesturing Riku to take it. The silver haired boy shrugged and took it, looking blankly at it. 

"I'm not really in the mood for a duel right now..." he muttered, looking back at Sora. 

The younger boy immediately pouted and shook his head like a puppy. "No! I didn't give it to you to duel, look carefully. Isn't there anything different?" Sora's sky blue eyes were sparkling and Riku narrowed his eyes to inspect his sword. Nope, nothing different. It was still the same old sword with which he used to beat Sora all the time. 

"I don't see..." he began, but was cut off by Sora's groan. 

"Oh man!" The younger boy pouted even more and stomped over to his boyfriend, taking the sword back to shove it right under his nose. 

"See! HERE! Look what's engraved!" 

It took Riku a while to realize what Sora had said and he eventually looked at the handle of his sword, seeing something carved in. 

'I am propety of Riku, the coolest guy on earth' 

Blinking, Riku stared at the words. Sora was watching in excitement, hoping that Riku would like it. He had spent all night carving this. 

"...and?" Sora tentatively asked, peering at Riku's face. Why wasn't Riku saying anything? 

The silver haired boy's eyes wandered up to meet Sora's gaze, they were blank and emotionless. Sora's heart fell. 

"Property is spelled with an 'r' after the 'e'." The older boy casually before he started to smirk. 

Sora's eyebrows raised. "Huh?" 

Riku's smirk widened and turned into an amused grin. "You spelled it wrong." The silver haired boy moved the sword to show it to Sora. 

The feeling of humiliation washed Sora over and the boy bit his lip to keep himself from crying. How could that happen? He wanted to make the perfect present for Riku and he had put all his heart into it, working the whole night and now this absolutely stupid mistake, he felt like a complete moron. 

"Hey," Riku softly said as he noticed Sora's eyes getting teary. Sora looked up and sniffled. 

"I'm so stupid...." the younger boy sobbed. 

Riku chuckled and shook his head, patting Sora's head lightly. "Nah, it's perfect!" 

Sora's head snapped up and he stared wide eyed. "Really?" he asked, followed by another sob. Riku smiled and nodded, tapping Sora's forehead with his index finger. 

"Yep, perfect. The spelling's just the proof that it's written by you." He smirked, winking at the other boy. 

Sora didn't know whether he should feel even more humiliated or take it as a compliment. Riku had the amazing ability to make everything sound good, even insults. 

"I meant that as a compliment, in case you're wondering," Riku added, knowing exactly what the other was thinking by the frown the younger boy had. 

Sora shyly looked up at Riku and slowly began to smile. Soon, he was wearing his usual goofy smile and leaned in, causing Riku to close his eyes. 

However, Riku's waiting lips met nothing but air, instead, Sora kissed his cheek and jumped off the bed again. 

"Hey," Riku frowned, almost turning into sulking-mode. "You missed," he stated, rubbing his cheek slightly. 

Sora just grinned and blew his boyfriend a kiss which Riku caught and pressed to his lips. 

"Don't move, I'll be right back," Sora then said, smiling mysteriously at Riku. The silver haired boy shrugged and watched Sora disappear into the other room. 

While Sora was running around, Riku stared at the words engraved. He had stared at them before without saying anything because the lump in this throat wouldn't go away. He didn't know whether Sora knew the hidden meaning in this, he probably just carved something into the sword. But the statement 'I am property of Riku', it could have been meant for the sword, or, better, Sora. If Sora had meant to tell him that he was really his..... He wasn't sure which one of these was the real meaning, but he was afraid to ask Sora. He knew that Sora wasn't such a hopeless romantic like himself, he would probably just make a fool of himself. 

A few minutes passed and Riku wondered what Sora was doing. He could hear something bump into the wall, then Sora's whining and then there was silence. He listened carefully, not moving just like Sora had told him. After a while of silence, Sora came back into the room, dragging a CD-Player with him. 

Riku raised one eyebrow and watched the brunette boy from the bed. "Sora?" 

"Shhh!" Sora chided, "I need to concentrate!" 

Riku immediately shut up and watched the younger boy set the CD-Player on the table, pushing some buttons to get the song he was looking for. 

"Aha!" he finally exclaimed and turned to Riku with a grin. "Ok, Riku. Part two of your birthday present. I'm going to make a total fool of myself now, I hope you enjoy." Sora was blushing like mad but still grinning. Riku wondered what he was planning to do. 

The music started and Sora closed his eyes. The lyrics already started and the singer was singing but Sora seemed to have his difficulties to follow the song. Riku watched him with a huge smile for he loved that song. As the chorus came, Sora started singing with all his heart - even if he missed almost every note. 

_ I'm going crazy crazy crazy   
Just thinking about you lately   
I'm going crazy crazy crazy   
Just thinking about you baby   
I'm going crazy crazy crazy crazy  
Thinking about you lately   
I'm going crazy crazy (crazy crazy)  
When I can't touch you   
Crazy crazy (I'm going crazy)  
When I can't hold you   
Crazy crazy   
When I can't see you again _

Riku's smile broadened with every word and he eventually decided to give in and leaped down from the bed - on to Sora. Surprised, the brunette yelped and they knocked over the table with the CD-Player. 

"Ri-Riku," Sora exclaimed, frowning at the predatory look in the silver haired boy's eyes. The music kept playing as the CD-Player was lying on the floor and Riku used his weigh to keep Sora pressed to the floor. 

_ "I know I need you, Each and every day, I can't live without you, So don't run away..." _

Riku huskily whispered along with the song, his intense gaze making Sora all dizzy. Then, the older boy smirked and leaned in to lightly brush his lips over Sora's jaw line, cheek and up to his forehead. Sora was a little disappointed that it wasn't a real kiss but it felt nice, having Riku's soft lips brush over him like that. 

"You're so adorable," Riku murmured, smiling like a lovestruck fool. "This is the best present I ever got. I love you." Knowing how completely corny and sappy this sounded, Riku decided to shut up before he started to talk like in a bad movie. 

Sora just grinned. Then, suddenly, he frowned, looking thoughtful. 

Riku noticed and raised his eyebrows, still pinning Sora down. "What?" 

Sora pouted adorably and blew out his breath, tickling Riku's face with it. "I just realized that you're 16 now. That means you're one year older again. Yesterday we were both 15," Sora explained, the pout making him look much younger than 15. 

Riku laughed and kissed Sora's forehead. "Sora, I'm always older than you, even yesterday I was older." 

Sora shook his head vigorously and stuck his lower lip even further forward. This caused Riku to laugh more and eventually lean down to claim Sora's mouth. He couldn't verbally express his feelings, so why not show Sora? There was still enough time until Selphie and the others were coming over. 

~~~ 

The hours passed quickly, too quickly, Riku thought. But they were spent perfectly and he almost felt bad since Sora's birthday hadn't been this good. Still, Sora seemed to have a lot of fun today and the others all seemed very happy. They had a little party and then decided to leave, knowing that Sora and Riku would probably want to be alone since they had to use every kairi-less minute they had. No one knew when the psycho fury would come back. 

The moonlight shone down on the two figures huddled up against the Paopu tree. It had been a long time since they last had such a romantic setting, if they ever had anything *that* romantic. The mood was perfect, Sora was leaning with his back against Riku's chest, absently humming along with the music that was playing in the background. Why was there music? Well, Selphie had arranged the perfect evening for the boys, as compensation for her 'Drug-Riku-With-Unknown-Drink-To-Make-Him-Sleep'-thing. Now the two boys were happily lying together, enjoying the warm breeze floating around them. 

Every now and then Sora would sigh dreamily and tilt his head up to meet Riku's gaze. The silver haired boy smiled with an expression that made him look like he was stoned or something. But the only drug he had been using was Sora. They looked into each other's eyes, Sora's head slightly swaying to the music, until he felt a cramp in his neck. 

"Owee..." he whined, tilting his head back to a normal position. He didn't know what to do - Riku's embrace was so comfortable that he didn't want to shift, but on the other hand he wanted to see Riku's angelic face. As his mind kept pondering over the situation Riku started whispering along with the lyrics of the song. 

_"Unforgettable, that's what you are..." _

Sora's ears perked up and finally shifted so that he was facing Riku, titling his head to one side. Riku, alias The Hopeless Romantic, looked back at Sora with a longing smile and leaned down to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. Everything moved as if in slow motion, the boys' kissing was just as slow and chaste as the rhythm of the song. Riku pressed his velvet lips on Sora's only to pull away again, even if it was just for a few inches. It was just a brief brushing of lips, withdrawal and brushing again. Riku felt like he was getting drunk from it, wanting it to last forever. 

Sora found himself enjoying it, too. It was a change from all the heavy making out which only caused to exhaust them. Sure, it was great, but this felt great, too, Sora had to admit. Riku continued nuzzling into Sora, kissing him briefly and caressing his cheeks with his lips. The feeling of Sora's soft skin was seducing but the romantic music kept Riku's mind from dirty thoughts, the part of him that longed for sappy romance was stronger. Riku almost chuckled as he noticed this. No one would ever guess that he was such a sucker for sappy romance. He would have never admitted it before, not even to himself, but with Sora....with Sora, he just felt like experiencing a whole lot of new things, and he wanted to experience the romance he had been dreaming of for so long, even if it was just subconsciously. 

Sora started making those noises he would always make when Riku did something wonderful to him, sounding like quiet, almost inaudible moans. They came out breathlessly and made Riku worship his Sora even more. 

"Sora, I--" Riku was just about to whisper the three words as the song suddenly ended, starting a new one. A fast and loud one. 

Riku jerked at the sudden rock music blaring through the air and Sora covered his ears like a little boy would do. So they had nothing against rock music, they even liked it, but it was simply deafening and it had ruined the mood completely. Riku pulled away to get up and turn off the music when he saw Selphie standing there, pushing some random buttons. 

"Selphie!" Riku growled, his eyes glaring daggers at her. The brunette girl jumped in surprise and smiled nervously. 

"Uh...I..." She looked around nervously, still trying to smile. "I...was swimming?" she offered, hoping that Riku wouldn't explode. 

Selphie saw that Riku wasn't taking it with humor and tried her puppy eyes on him. "Look, I just wanted to make sure that the music keeps playing but I must have pushed the wrong button and then..." 

Riku was just about to open his mouth and yell the crap out of the girl when he suddenly saw Sora bobbing his head to the music, grinning. 

"That song is just so cool," he stated, motioning Selphie to turn the volume up. Riku stared in disbelief and rubbed his eyes warily. He hoped he was dreaming. 

But this was real, and Sora had once again won over his intentions and now the two boys found themselves bobbing their heads to the blaring music while Selphie squealed happily that Riku hadn't made dog-food out of her. 

The song went on and Sora seemed to know the lyrics to it as he absently muttered along. Then, when the chorus came he started smiling and turned to Riku. 

_"One minute you're on top, the next your not,"_ Sora grinned at Riku winking wickedly at him. Oh no, Riku thought. He knew the meaning of this, even if the song was about something entirely different. But this line made his worry of Sora starting to get dominant come back to his mind. It scared him, in a way. He didn't want to be on bottom. 

After the song ended, Selphie decided to not push her luck and quickly dismissed the boys and ran away. Riku would stay calm as long as Sora was happy, but Selphie still didn't know whether she was safe. Of course, Riku loved Selphie like a sister and both knew it, so there was no real fear, just a little play they used to keep up for fun. 

The music stopped completely and it was silent again. Strange, considering that they had just listened to deafening music and now it was so silent that the sound of waves splashing lazily towards the sand was audible. 

The two boys were sitting so that they were facing each other, though not touching. Somehow the music had made them move a few feet away from each other, mostly because they would have bumped their heads while moving to the music. Now they were facing each other, both motionless as an awkward silence came over them. Sora seemed as though he wanted to say something but somehow couldn't whereas Riku's emotions were unreadable. Sora could see though that Riku was thinking of something. 

"So, um," Sora then finally began, pouting unconsciously. 

Riku snapped out of his daze and smiled at Sora. He got on his hands and knees and crawled over to Sora, his arms wrapping around the younger boy's shoulders. Sora, surprised but pleased by Riku's movements, broke into a smile and stared up at the stars twinkling above them. Riku's body heat was making him feel fuzzy inside and he cutely decided to tell him that. 

"Riku, you make my tummy feel funny..." he stated in such an innocent and childlike way that Riku tightened his arms around him to hug him closer. 

"Gods, Sora," Riku's voice was muffled as his face was buried in Sora's neck, "Please *never* stop being so cute," he almost moaned and pressed himself even closer to Sora. Sora was making him go crazy, in every way possible. 

Sora smiled at the response, since it was exactly what he wanted to hear. Yeah, he had gotten used to being called cute and adorable, but only from Riku. Because Riku made it sound like music in his ears, it was even better than that. He enjoyed it thoroughly but wouldn't admit it, since he knew that his denying would only make him cuter. Sora wasn't as naive as he seemed. He grinned to himself. 

"How about we go back home and watch some TV on the couch?" Sora then suggested. He wanted to cuddle with Riku, huddled up on the couch with lots of pillows and blankets. 

Riku chuckled and nuzzled into Sora's neck. "We could also do some other things on the couch...." he trailed off, using his everlasting teasing to keep his usual attire despite his yearning for romance. He would never admit that he was actually a hopeless romantic and wishing for the sappiest "candle light dinner with kissing under the moonlight"-thing. 

To his surprise, Sora chuckled too and placed a kiss on Riku's ear, whispering, "I'd rather we just cuddle on the couch with some romantic music on and you can continue to spoil me with kisses...." 

It was almost as if Sora had read his mind and Riku was silent for a while. Then he pulled away, his hand reaching out to gently brush the brown bangs out of Sora's face. 

"I'd love to," he murmured and leaned in to kiss Sora briefly on his sweet lips. Getting up, he extended a hand towards the younger boy, who took it gladly and together they walked back to Riku's house to have some more sappy romance. 

~Tbc~ 

~~~ 

Ending notes: oh my god. sap sappier the sappiest. how was it? I got a review saying 'more romance' ...well, is this good? I'm not feeling romantic at the moment so I just tried my best ^^' hope you liked it though! Okies the lyrics I used were: 1) Crazy by KC & Jojo 2) Unforgettable by Frank Sinatra (lol) and 3) Hit the Floor by Linkin Park! ...I was listening to that song and it just struck my mind when I heard 'one minute you're on top, the next you're not' ... it just reminded me of Sora and Riku - heh my little hentai mind...hopeless, ne? *sighs*  
Review please? please, please, please, pretty please with goldbrown waffles covered in whipped cream and a cherry on top? Review and I'll love you forever!! ^-^ 

oh and I just have to say this now: There are so many wonderful SoraxRiku ficcies out there! If you haven't read them go read:  
"Stygian Solace" by Uzumaki, "Dream" by Redtail the Moonlight Magician, "Bind to Thee" by Athravan, "Pieces that Fall into Place" by Maho Kiwi _(is there going to be an update some time????)_, "Machigai" by Ko-chan, "The Tear's Path" by Stuntcat and "Where I'll return" by Shiva!   
Okies, that was about it for the moment, of course there are many many other great fics but I can't use all the space for telling you this... since you probably all read those stories lol... Just wanted to thank everyone for reading my fic even if you don't review, you guys are the thing that keeps me going! and I wanna thank the wonderful authors of the other fics, I get a lot of inspiration from you! Thank you, Danke, Xie Xie, Arigatto, Merci, Grazie and so on and so forth ^_^

errr...yes I'm done ranting, you can go now ^^' 


	33. Hiccups and Black Magic

Author's Ranting: Gods, I'm so sorry. Hello? I'm not dead yet, I'm still alive, don't worry! (as if you'd worry...) anywayz... It's been FOREVER since I last updated this fic, I'm so so soooo sorry, ok? Really, I don't know what got into me, but I was sooo busy with school and I kinda forgot all about this... and then I became obsessed with Weiß Kreuz and I just had to make this RanKen shrine I've always wanted to do so... err whatever. Anywayz here's the new chapter, hope you like it, sorry for having you wait this long!   
  
~~~  
  
"Ow, Sora, what are you doing," Riku muttered as he tried to open the door but his hands wouldn't reach the doorknob since Sora was constantly distracting him somehow.   
  
"Hurry up and open the door, Riku," Sora innocently said wearing his trademark pout. The silver haired boy rolled his eyes and went back to his task - opening an unlocked door, how hard could that be?  
  
Just when he was about to twist the doorknob, Sora embraced his boyfriend from behind and nuzzled into the silky hair.   
  
"Mmm... Sora...." The older boy absently leaned back and sighed dreamily. Although he loved to feel Sora do that, he started to get a little annoyed since he couldn't open the door while feeling the younger boy's lips brush over his hair, onto his neck.  
  
"Just wait a second so we can get in, ok," Riku managed to get out, fighting the urge to moan.   
  
Sora withdrew and crossed his arms, his lower lip quivering slightly.   
  
"I was just trying to please you..." he sobbed though it was completely fake. Riku, however, didn't know and started to panic, mentally kicking himself for making Sora feel bad. He frowned and bit his lip, trying to think of something to say. Sora grinned to himself as he saw Riku's desperate expression and decided that he wouldn't torment his lover right now. The evening was too nice to turn it into that game, and who knew, maybe Sora would be able to seduce Riku tonight. He always wanted to be dominant, if only for once.   
  
"Sora, I--" Riku seemed to have thought of something, when the younger boy's hands snaked around his neck to pull him down into a kiss.  
  
"Shhh," Sora silenced the older boy by pressing their lips together. Not too long after that, he started lapping at Riku's lower lip, eliciting a surprised but pleased moan. Encouraged by the sound, Sora gently forced his tongue into Riku's chamber, exploring the already familiar mouth, and still, it felt different for, this time, he was the one to initiate the kiss. The younger boy began to get a little light-headed from the fact that Riku would really let him do as he pleased, and let his hands wander up into the silky silver hair.   
  
"Sora..." Riku's voice was shaky as he pulled away just to catch his breath.  
  
Sora grinned at the silver haired boy and motioned him to open the door. Groaning, Riku rolled his eyes and quickly threw the door open without Sora distracting him.  
  
"Finally!" Sora cried out and Riku rolled his eyes heavenwards. The brunette bounced past his friend and threw himself onto the couch, lying sprawled on the soft cushions. Riku had to smile at the sight and went to stand in front of Sora, crossing his arms.  
  
"And where am I supposed to sit now?" He raised one silver eyebrow and glanced down at his friend. Sora smiled and sat up again, reaching out to pull Riku next to him. As soon as Riku was sitting on the couch, Sora crawled into his lap and started kissing his face, reminding Riku of a young kitten. Especially because Sora was purring while doing so.   
  
Riku smirked and stopped Sora for a second. "Can you say meow?"   
  
Sora stared at his friend, dumbstruck. Riku chuckled at that reaction and patted the brunette's head. "I think I'm going to call you Kitty from now on," Riku teased.   
  
The younger boy's face twisted into a pout and he snorted, "Only girls have petnames like that."  
  
Riku snickered and lightly nudged Sora's nose, making the younger boy frown. "That's what you say. You also said that only girls are supposed to have boyfriends. And what, my love, are we then?"  
  
Sora opened his mouth to reply something but then stopped and scratched his head. "Hey, I was ten when I said that! I didn't know that there was something...something like this...um...." A blush crept up Sora's cheeks and the boy looked down embarrassed.   
  
Riku sighed tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. "Why is it you can't say it? Is it that embarrassing for you?" Riku softly asked.   
  
Sora frowned and shook his head. "Riku. Riku I'm not gay, I like girls," he confidently stated and Riku turned his head back to look at Sora.   
  
"I...I like girls, but," Sora smiled slightly and rested his head against Riku's chest, "...but I *love* you."   
  
A time of silence passed by and Sora idly listened to Riku's heartbeat, lulling him almost to sleep.   
  
Riku didn't move at all through that time, but then suddenly he chuckled.   
  
"So you're bi?"   
  
Sora groaned and pushed against the older boys chest. "Shut up."   
  
Riku just smirked.   
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile Selphie was with Wakka and Tidus, staying over the night in Tidus' house.   
  
"I hope Kairi's never coming back. Riku and Sora are so happy without her," Selphie said, as the three of them were sitting around a caldron.   
  
Tidus exchanged a look with Wakka as the brunette girl threw something into the boiling water, making some smoke come up.  
  
"Selphie, what's that...?" Tidus cautiously asked while Wakka peered at the thing before them. Selphie threw some more mysterious stuff into the caldron and shrugged.   
  
"I'm trying to curse Kairi. Never tried it before but there's this book and---" She was cut off by Tidus pouncing her, staring wide-eyed.   
  
"You mean you're trying black magic?! Selphie, this is dangerous, especially when you're throwing random stuff into that soup of whatever, who knows, maybe it blows up!"  
  
Tidus nearly cried, really afraid of Selphie's ideas. Wakka frowned and pointed at the smoke.   
  
"Is that really supposed to look like this, ya?"   
  
Selphie turned her head and shrieked. "Oh my God! The smoke's blue! It's supposed to be green! Noooo that means it's not working....or is it?" Selphie reverted back to talking to herself, mumbling something weird, looking into a book that was lying behind her and then looked back at the caldron.  
  
"Oh, it's all right. It should work both ways," she nonchalantly said.   
  
Tidus had a horrified expression on his face while Wakka just scratched his head. Selphie read some more in the book and shrugged, ignoring the fact that she was reading it the wrong way. Magic was magic, besides, it wouldn't work anyway. She just wanted to try it out.   
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku were sitting together on the couch. Well, sitting was the wrong term. Sora's legs were on Riku's lap while his head rested on the arm rest and Riku was kind of hugging Sora's legs. If Selphie had been there she would have bounced around, saying 'awww'.   
  
Sora kept his eyes in the direction of the TV although he was nearly falling asleep. He had to struggle to keep his eyes open and eventually gave in, letting his eyelids sink down. His breath became even and Riku noticed the quiet snoring noises. He smiled and turned his head to see that the brunette was sleeping already. "G'night," he whispered, moving his arms to remove Sora from his lap and planning to take him to bed.   
  
However, when Riku was about to pick his boyfriend up the boy jerked slightly. Riku blinked in surprise and moved away.   
  
Sora started to hiccup.   
  
Riku had a bewildered expression and simply watched as the little body shook, along with those strange noises. Somehow, it was rather cute, Riku thought.   
  
In no time he was grinning from ear to ear, waiting for Sora to wake up. He couldn't possibly stay asleep while hiccuping, could he? As if on cue, Sora's brows furrowed together and his eyes slowly started to open. He hiccuped again and snapped his eyes open in irritation.   
  
As he saw Riku grinning at him he opened his mouth, but was startled as he hiccuped again.   
  
"Riku--" Another hiccup "Why are you" hiccup "grinning?" and another hiccup.   
  
Sora's lips formed a pout and pressed them together in order to hold back the hiccups. No use. He continued to hiccup and his expression turned from confused to irritated. The fact that Riku was just standing there and grinning at him was not helping at all.  
  
"Can I--" hiccup "get something" hiccup "to drink?" Sora then asked. Riku shook his head and crouched down so he was on the same level as Sora. He smiled and traced his finger over Sora's lips.   
  
"There's something I've always wanted to try...." he trailed off, still smiling. Sora raised an eyebrow, and hiccuped yet again, much to his annoyance.   
  
Riku looked as though he was remembering something but quickly shook his head to snap out of it. He then brushed Sora's bangs out of his face and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on those pink lips - and miraculously, Sora stopped hiccuping.  
  
As Riku pulled away, Sora held his hand to his chest, testing if he was still going to hiccup. But nothing happened. Riku had really cured him.  
  
The silver haired chuckled and scratched his head. "Ok, so I never thought this was gonna work. Seems like Selphie knows more than she seems."   
  
Sora raised his eyebrows, asking Riku to explain this. Riku sighed and told Sora that Selphie once lectured him about 'Kissing-Opportunities', meaning times when a kiss would help certain things. Hiccuping was one of them.  
  
"So I thought I'd try--" Riku hiccuped. Sora's eyes went wide as well as his grin and Riku looked horrified as he continued to hiccup.   
  
Sora started laughing and patted Riku's head. "Guess Selphie didn't tell you about the side-effect."   
  
Riku looked helplessly at Sora and the younger boy smiled, deciding to use the 'Kissing-Opportunity'....  
  
After that kiss, Sora was the one hiccuping again, and so Riku had to take care of it. They went on kissing each other until the hiccups began to dissolve, leaving them kissing without reason. Reason other than that they were in love, of course.  
  
~~~~  
  
The next morning, Tidus and Wakka were lying on the floor, lying dangerously *close* together. That, however, was only because they had backed away from Selphie when the liquid in the caldron started bubbling over, making Selphie stutter nervously about side-effects and stuff. After a lot of bickering and a huge explosion, Tidus eventually fell asleep next to Wakka.   
  
Selphie was now standing outside, looking at the ocean. Kairi hadn't come back yet, maybe the magic spell had still worked?   
  
"Why are you up already?" A voice came from behind her and the girl turned around to see a sleepy Tidus.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Selphie quietly replied, knowing that Tidus would not want to hear a squealing voice right now. She kind of felt bad for blowing up half of his room.   
  
Tidus moved his arms around Selphie's waist and embraced her from behind, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Promise me to never try magic again? At least not in my room...." he tiredly muttered. Selphie sighed and nodded, leaning back into the embrace.   
  
"I promise. Because...." she started to grin happily, "...if this worked, I will never need to use magic again. Kairi should be gone forever!"  
  
Tidus wanted to smack his head but found himself too tired and too comfortable in leaning against Selphie. It was funny, Selphie was leaning against him, and he was leaning against her, so if one of them gave in, the other would probably collapse. Tidus wished Selphie would not suddenly start bouncing.  
  
Luckily, she didn't and they remained like this for a while before going back to lie down in the bed. It was still early so they could still sleep at least a few hours. Selphie curled up next to Tidus and gave him a little kiss on the forehead before closing her eyes tightly.   
  
~~~  
  
Hours later, everyone was up again. Tidus was fighting Riku, the score was something like 5000:0, he just couldn't beat Riku. Selphie cheered on Tidus the whole time but it didn't seem to help, Riku was just too strong. Wakka and Sora currently coming back from searching mushrooms and sat down next to Selphie.   
  
"It's amazing how much Tidus can take. It's like no matter how often he gets beaten up, he still tries again." Sora mused, feeling almost a little bit of jealousy coursing through him as he saw Tidus coming close to Riku. Of course they would only touch each other with their weapons, but still....  
  
He sighed and decided to turn his head elsewhere, forgetting his ridiculous jealousy. Then, suddenly, his eyes caught something.  
  
"Look! Look! That's Kairi's boat!" Sora suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide in excitement.   
  
Riku's head snapped immediately into the direction Sora was pointing at and raised his eyebrows.   
  
"It's the boat, the boat!" Sora called yet again. Why the hell did he seem so happy? Or was it just Riku's jealousy making him imagine things?  
  
"Oh phooey! Does that mean she's back?" Selphie asked as she grimaced slightly. No one seemed to want her back, the last few days had been wonderful and peaceful, even Wakka was happy. Riku scowled and walked towards the water. The boat was not tied at the pier and it didn't look like it's been used for some days, and no one had seen Kairi. Maybe the boat came back without her? Riku's lips formed a smirk as he imagined poor little Kairi screaming after the leaving boat. What a wonderful thought.   
  
"Looks like she wasn't in it..." Sora mused, suddenly standing next to Riku. The silver haired boy quickly let his smirk disappear and nodded. Silence. For a moment, the boys just stood there, gazing at the ocean in complete silence.   
  
Sora was wondering whether Kairi had returned but it didn't seem like it. Riku, however, had already decided that fate had Kairi starve to death on a forsaken island, so he and Sora would be in peace. His current worries were about Sora getting more and more dominant. The worst thing was, that Riku never knew when Sora would turn into Seme since his mood changed from second to second. One minute he was sweet and innocent and the next moment he was pinning Riku against the wall. Almost as unpredictable as Kairi.   
  
"Hey," Sora suddenly began, putting his finger to his chin. "If Kairi never gets back, does that mean her house is empty?"   
  
Riku wrinkled his nose, not quite comprehending what the younger boy was getting at, and decided to shrug.   
  
Sora's thoughtful expression turned into an adorable grin and he rubbed his hands together. "Kairi's house is huge, you know...." he trailed off, giving Riku some time to think. Maybe he would understand what Sora meant. However, the silver haired boy merely looked at Sora with a slightly bemused expression.   
  
Sora exhaled loudly and rolled his eyes. "Riku! We wanted to move together, right? And and and if Kairi's gone, we can have her house, right? Since her house is twice as big as ours, right?" Sora was now bouncing excitedly around, holding Riku's hands, looking at him with his big blue eyes.   
  
"Wouldn't that be great?" Big blue eyes sparkled with hope   
  
Riku found himself bouncing, too, although he was not really the bouncing type. Still, this seemed like a good idea, and moving into her house would mean that Kairi was really gone.   
  
"Sora, you're awesome!" Riku smiled and hugged Sora tightly. Sora hugged Riku back and smiled brightly. He felt like he was going to explode from happiness.  
  
***  
2 hours before   
  
Kairi was sitting on the beach of the little island, eating a fruit she had found in the woods. It wasn't as bad as she thought, being her all on her own. There was enough to eat, and as long as the weather was nice, everything was ok. She would get back in a few days to have her revenge on Sora. They were foolish for leaving a boat here, Kairi thought. But this only served them well, she was going to have them all suffer.  
  
"Oh yes, this will be my sweet revenge....." She growled, standing up to get back into the woods again. The fruit was not really helping the hunger so she decided to look for some more edible things.  
  
After a while she came back, whistling happily. Dumping the food on the sand she went towards the water where she saw the boat drifting away on the waves. It wouldn't get too far, would it? Shrugging, Kairi went back to her food and started eating. Only a few minutes after she sat down, a strong wind came up and the boat drifted even farther away. The girl quickly got up, intending to get the boat back into place, but only ended up running after the boat until the water was at her shoulders. She couldn't go further now, not with this upcoming storm. But what about the boat?  
  
The boat was taken away by the waves and Kairi quickly got back to the shore, afraid to get lost in the storm. Sitting next to her food, she watched the boat disappear.   
  
"Crap...." she muttered to herself, frowning. "At least it's not raining," she added thankfully since she had no shelter.  
  
Of course, a few seconds after the words had left her mouth, it started pouring down on her. Such an irony...  
  
***  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Finally Sora and Riku are moving together... remember when I first wrote about this? I don't even remember which chapter... anyway, they're really moving in now, and if Kairi comes back, I mean, IF, then she'll be unpleasantly surprised about this hehe....  
  
*and whoopsie I made a few mistakes cause I didn't ran this through a spellchecker or anything - I had no time.. gomen ne! 


	34. I swear this house is cursed

Author's Ranting: Ehh... I feel so bad! I keep you waiting all this time, you must hate me -_- Sooooo sorry! I can't tell you how sorry I am!   
Ok, the thing is.... I just had this idea in my mind but couldn't write it down cause I was too lazy. Yep, L-A-Z-Y. Sue me. I was reading SanjixZoro (from One Piece) stories instead of writing.   
Sorry sorry sorry. But Sanji and Zoro are soo... *droooools* ehh...okk, anywayz, the end of this chapter is quite a cliffhanger and I won't be able to write next week cause I'll be gone for a while. I hope you don't kill me for that. I'll try to update as soon as possible, promise!  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku went straight to Kairi's house which kind of reminded them of a mansion. Riku had never been inside Kairi's house while Sora had been there quite often. He had always told his friend about getting lost in this huge house, but getting lost was pretty normal for Sora.   
  
"So, we really want to move in here?" Riku asked, wanting to get some reassurance. Somehow he felt a little strange, standing in front of an actually foreign house, with his belongings in his hands.   
  
"Sure! Kairi's house is great, you'll see. Her room is kinda scary but we can redecorate it, right?" Sora's baby blue eyes were still sparkling with child-like happiness that caused Riku to smile hesitantly.   
  
"S-sure," he shakily answered, inwardly boiling with jealousy to hear that Sora had been in Kairi's room before. Well, actually it should have been no surprise since Kairi and Sora *had* been a couple for quite a time. Another thing that had him thinking though, was that Sora said Kairi's room was scary. In which way was it scary? Somehow he felt like he didn't even want to know.  
  
Feeling something tugging on his arm, Riku was pulled out of his thoughts by Sora.  
  
"Come on, let's go in. You'll love the house," Sora said with his adorable grin painted on his face and Riku nodded before being pulled through the doorway.  
  
Entering the house, Riku's breath hitched for a second. Sora hadn't exaggerated. The house was huge - and beautiful. Maybe that was the advantage of being adopted by the mayor.  
  
The two boys ascended the stairs as Sora lead Riku to Kairi's room.   
  
"Ok, here we go. Try to be strong, it only hurts the first time," Sora compassionately remarked as he twisted the doorknob. Riku had no time to wonder what the younger boy meant as he was pushed into a room full of.... PINK!  
  
Pink walls, pink furniture, pink curtains, even the floor was pink.   
  
"Oh...my...God..." Riku felt as though he was being choking by the pinkness and wanted to turn to Sora, his beautiful angel who would surely save him from this nightmare. However, he found himself frozen in shock and pinkness-overload. Staring at the pink hell, Riku went stiff like stone. In the background, Sora was snickering gleefully but it seemed so far away for Riku, almost as if Sora was in another dimension.   
  
"Riku?" Sora asked between giggling. Riku could hear Sora but he couldn't move, still staring at the pink room. Everything in this room was pink, really everything. The bed, which was a huge four poster, was decorated with pink hearts and flowers. It would have looked romantic if the rest of the room hadn't contained exactly the same sloppy pinkness.   
  
"He~llo?" Sora waved a hand before the silver haired boy's face. Seeing that Riku wasn't reacting, Sora decided to pinch his friend in the butt which had the effect to make Riku squeal unusually girly but it also made him able to move again.  
  
"Oh Gods...." Was all Riku could choke out.  
  
Sora broke into a fit of laughter and threw his arms around Riku's neck to peck his cheek. The silver haired boy felt a little light-headed and closed his eyes for a second. He felt Sora tighten his arms around him and the idea of having some fun with Sora, in Kairi's bed, entered his mind. If Kairi ever got back she would go probably go totally nuts after hearing this. A smirk appeared on Riku's lips and he opened his eyes again with a mischievous glint in his eyes.  
  
"Let's change this pink hell into something liveable and then we'll try that bed, okay?"   
  
Sora blinked his large blue eyes in that cute, innocent way of his and nodded eventually. He gave Riku an adorable smile and kissed him on the lips before running over to the bag he had been carrying.   
  
"I thought we could use some posters and stuff, you know, to cover the wall," Sora suggested, unpacking a bunch of posters. Riku tilted his head to glance over at the pictures and found himself grinning as he saw the posters.  
  
"You've got posters of Final Fantasy VII?" he asked with a huge grin on his face. Both of them liked that game but Riku had never thought that Sora was obsessed enough to get a poster. Besides, he had never seen it before and Sora usually showed everything he got to Riku.  
  
The younger boy pursed his lips to a pout as he sat cross legged on the floor with the poster in his hands.  
  
"Got a problem with it? We either live in a room with a life-size picture of Sephiroth or we live in Pinkaland," Sora exclaimed, flailing his arms into the air, sending the poster flying.   
  
Riku laughed at Sora's antics and quickly strode over to pick up the poster. "Sephiroth, huh?" he mused as he inspected the picture. It was the picture of their favorite scene in the game. The scene where Sephiroth was standing in the flames of Nibelheim.  
  
"I like it," Riku decided, and started to fix it on the wall. Sora blinked again and watched Riku from his spot on the floor. The thought of finally moving in with Riku made him feel dizzy and he couldn't help but smile happily. He watched as Riku went back to the bag to get some more posters and smiled at the way Riku's hair fell into his face. It looked so perfect, no matter what Riku was doing. A few more posters decorated the walls and slowly, the room seemed to become bearable.   
  
Riku noticed Sora watching him and inwardly smirked. Being able to live with Sora would give enough opportunities to watch each other. He loved being watched by Sora as much as he loved watching Sora. Sora would always have this adorable cloudy expression when he was watching Riku. His eyes would become half-lidded and distant, yet they were so concentrated on the sight before him. Riku noticed all the little things Sora was doing while watching him and he loved every single one of them.  
  
"You're planning to watch me all day or are you gonna help?" He eventually asked, raising one elegant eyebrow at the boy on the floor. Sora's mouth was slightly open and it looked like he was going to drool soon. Chuckling, Riku extended a hand towards Sora and beckoned him to get up. The younger boy snapped out of his daze and nodded, taking Riku's hand with a smile.  
  
"What do you want me to do? You're already done with the wall...." Sora trailed off, looking around the room. It was now full of video game and movie posters, making the pink hell subside. The pink carpet and curtains were a little disturbing but it didn't matter for now.   
  
His eyes darted back to Riku and met his inviting gaze. Sora understood immediately and grinned, placing his hands on Riku's chest to push him towards the edge of the bed until Riku was about to sit down on it. They were both gazing into each others eyes as Sora pushed Riku further, making him lie down on the soft mattress with Sora on top of him. The brunette slowly leaned down intending to brush his lips over the older boy, but just as their lips were about to touch, a loud growling coming from the direction of Sora's stomach, interrupted them.  
  
Riku rolled his eyes and gently pushed Sora away, smirking at him. "Why did I know that this would happen?" He asked with a mocking look. Sora's lips formed his trademark I'm-too-cute-for-this-world-pout and crossed his arms over his chest. As Riku got up Sora looked up at him from beneath his lashes, making him look even cuter, if this was possible. The silver haired boy chuckled and affectionately ruffled the younger one's hair before blowing him a kiss.  
  
"Come on, take me to the kitchen and we'll see if there's anything to eat. And while we're at it...you could draw me a map of this house so I don't get lost," Riku remarked, scratching his head slightly. Of course, Riku would never get lost in a house since his sense of direction was pretty good. Sora, however, might need the map even though he'd already been here a few times.   
  
The pouty look on Sora's face immediately vanished as it was replaced by a proud smile. "Okay! It's not that hard, you know. I'll draw you a map and you try to find the rooms. If you need anything just ask me, I'm familiar with this house," Sora happily declared, almost like a little child that had just been praised and now felt like the king of the world. In a way, Sora *was* a little child that had just been praised and now felt like the king of the world...  
  
As they went down, Sora blabbed about this and that, telling Riku where to go to where to find everything. He really seemed proud of himself to know this house. Riku had to smile because Sora somehow reminded him of a hyperactive puppy. Usually that description only fitted Selphie, but today, Sora seemed like a supercute blue-eyed puppy that was happily bouncing through a giant house.  
  
The kitchen was as big as all the other rooms, the fridge alone was almost as big as a closet. Sora almost had to crawl in to get the things inside. After digging out a few snacks and drinks, the couple ate in silence as they observed their surroundings. A lot of high tech stuff. Now Riku knew why Kairi was such a bitchy girl. Living like a princess must have made her think she really was a princess.   
  
~~  
  
After eating, the two boys found the door to Kairi's play room which contained a computer, a huge TV, a small whirlpool and a lot of other luxurious things they had never even dreamed of. All the time Sora had been in Kairi's house he had never seen how much stuff Kairi actually had.   
  
Trying out everything, the two boys laughed all day long until they ended up being too tired to move. Both were slumped over the sofa, staring at the TV although it was turned off. Riku had told Sora to turn it on, but the brunette was too tired to move his hand over the remote control. So they just lolled around on the couch.  
  
The sun went down and it became night - the perfect time for Sora and Riku since they finally were allowed to go to sleep. Of course nobody ever forbade them to sleep but it was some kind of rule they had made when they were little not to go sleeping before it was dark.   
  
As the outside world went black, Sora and Riku crawled into bed together and pulled the blanket over themselves. Peace. Sora quickly fell asleep with a smile as Riku gave him one last goodnight's kiss. After seeing Sora fall asleep, Riku stared up at the ceiling. This seemed like a dream. Living with Sora in this palace-like house. Being able to hold him while sleeping without being squashed against the wall... it was great. The mattress was so comfortable and the bed was so big that both of them had more than enough space.   
  
Riku suddenly noticed that he was thirsty and decided to go downstairs to get some water. He climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake Sora, and sneaked out of their room. Now he was standing in the hallway. He turned on the lights and descended the stairs to get to the kitchen. As he passed a door he hadn't opened while exploring the house with Sora, he stopped and looked at it for a while. The door was not locked and seemed to lead into a closet or something like that. Shaking his head, Riku decided to first drink something and then see what this room was.   
  
He went into the kitchen and tried to open the fridge. It didn't work. The door was stuck and Riku had to put all his strength into it to get the door open. As it was finally open, he got himself a soda and tried to close the door again. It didn't work. Now the door was stuck so that he couldn't close it.  
  
"I swear this fridge is cursed...." Riku muttered and smashed his fist against the door until it went shut with a loud bang. Finally having this solved, Riku took a sip of the soda only to find out that it tasted like crap. Looking at the label, he saw that it was green tea - he hated green tea.  
  
"Curses...." The boy muttered and threw the can into the trash.   
  
He walked out of the kitchen and passed that door again. This time he pushed it open to see that it lead into a small room with lots of old things in it. Probably a storage room or something. He found a flower-shaped mirror and went to take a closer look. In that moment, the door went shut and was locked with a 'click'.  
  
Riku jerked at the sudden darkness and banged on the door. It didn't open. Groaning, the boy looked for a light switch and luckily found it. The small room was lit by a half-rotten lamp and Riku frowned.   
  
"I swear this house is cursed," he mused as he tried to open the door. Unfortunately he wasn't that skillful with those lock-things and failed in opening the door.  
  
He was locked. In a small storage room. And it was night. The only hope was Sora. Who was currently sleeping.  
  
"Shit."  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Uh oh. Riku's locked. What's up with the house? Is it *cursed*? Sora is sleeping peacefully and has no idea what's going on downstairs. What will Riku do? Will he ever come out? And what's with Kairi? Ok, I do realise that no one's interested in Kairi ^_^  
Well, stay tuned for the next chapter which will take a little longer cause I'm gone next week, I'll be back on 24th May!   
Review please, you can flame me for making you wait, I know I'm such a lazy person.... -_- 


	35. Okay, this house IS cursed

Author's Ranting: Baaaaaaaaaaack again! Hey hey, I do have a good reason why I didn't update for such a long time! I had to go on a one-week-trip with my school and there I hurt my hands so when I came back I couldn't write anything! See? I would never forget to update or anything, I just don't write when I really can't! But here it is, the long awaited chapter 35! I hope you all like it!  
  
~~~  
  
"Sora! So~ra!!"   
  
Someone calling his name, Sora's eyes opened, the darkness filled the room.   
  
"..huh...?"   
  
Sora yawned and slowly opened his eyes, noting that he couldn't see anything in the darkened room. The curtains were tightly closed although Sora had insisted on keeping them open just a bit. So he was afraid of the dark, even now as a 15 year old boy. Riku, however, loved to sleep in pitch-black rooms where no single ray of light could hit him.   
  
"Riku?" Sora turned to Riku's side of the bed, rolling his eyes as he noticed that he wouldn't be able to see Riku in this dark room. So instead of seeing, Sora reached out and blindly searched for the other boy's body. Nothing. Maybe Sora was searching in the wrong place, but how could he be sure without seeing anything.  
  
The brunette boy thrust his lower lip forward and silently pouted, brooding over the situation. He sat up and crossed his arms, looking around the room only to find that there was nothing but black.   
  
And as he was sitting there, a light bulb appeared over his head and it hit him.  
  
"The switch!" He exclaimed, mentally patting himself on the back for his ingenious idea. Of course, the light switch had to be somewhere around the bed. He had seen it the day before, but he couldn't quite remember where exactly it was. He turned around into the direction where he thought the switch would be and began to roam over the wall in search of the switch.  
  
~~  
  
"99 bottles of beer on the wall 99 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall. 98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around 97 bottles of beer on the wall, 97 bottles of beer on the wall 97 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, 96 bottles of beer on the wall. 96 bottles of beer on the wall, 96 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around 95 bottles of beer on the wall...."  
  
Riku sat in the closet, chanting that stupid song out of boredom and despair. He had tried to open the door twice, without any luck. He had tried to call for Sora, but seemingly his friend was unable to hear him. So what else was there to do except for sitting cross legged on the floor, with one elbow standing on the thigh, head resting on the hand and singing a song to make time pass.   
  
"...87 bottles of beer, take one down pass it around, 85 bottles--aw dammit!" Riku groaned and bit his lower lip. Great, now he had miscounted. Grumbling to himself, Riku shook his head and stood up, carefully trying not to behave like an elephant in a china store. All the old things that were stored in this room looked quite antique, or at least it would be a pity if he destroyed anything. The lack of room in there, however, made it hard to keep everything standing in place. Whenever Riku shifted, he had to look quickly and stop something from falling down from the shelf.   
  
When he turned to the right, a framed picture threatened to fall from the shelf next to him, but luckily Riku managed to catch it in time, just before it hit the floor.   
  
Curiously as Riku was, he held the small picture towards the light to see that it was a photo of Kairi.   
  
"What the..." His eyes widened, his right hand covered his mouth and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.   
  
~~  
  
"Switch where aaaare you? Come on, don't hide yourself!" Sora was still looking for the light switch. It just had to be there, he knew that he had seen it before. He had only found the plug so far, and nearly got hit by electricity as he found it.   
  
"I know you're here, I just know it...." Sora grumbled, slightly annoyed at Riku since he had to close the curtains. Sora knew why he liked to keep a little light, it was just for those kinds of situations when you woke up in the middle of the night. It was as if you'd wake up blind, with all the darkness around. He had never understood why Riku liked darkness so much when he slept.   
  
As his thoughts began to fix on Riku, he started to worry. He couldn't hear him breath so maybe he had gone out and got lost in the house? It wouldn't surprise him, Sora had gotten lost too. As soon as he had found the light switch he would go and look for Riku.   
  
"Got you!" Sora happily squeaked as he pushed something.  
  
Suddenly the bed started to vibrate and Sora yelped in surprise. Since when did Kairi's bed vibrate?!   
  
Sora frowned and found himself losing sense of direction as the bed started to shake more violently. He felt like riding a roller coaster and the fact that he couldn't see a thing made everything a little scary.  
  
"Rikuuuu!" He cried out, getting dizzy from the darkness and the bed. If he didn't knew better he would have guessed that this house was cursed. First having Riku disappear, then the tightly shut curtains which had been open when he went to sleep, and now this horrifying bed.   
  
"Riku! Help! I want this to stop and I want light!!"  
  
All of the sudden, the bed stopped vibrating and the lamp standing in the right corner went on. Sora blinked in surprise, his brain not quite working before he realized what had happened. Did Kairi's furniture function by voice?  
  
"Light," Sora said, quietly, tentatively.   
  
The light was turned off immediately.   
  
"Light," Sora said again, and the light was turned on again. Two, blinking, large blue eyes darted around the room. No Riku.   
  
The boy frowned, a little frightened by the room. He looked at the clock, it said 2 am. Riku was nowhere in sight and the door to the corridor was open. The sheets and pillows were a mess, caused by the vibrating bed before.   
  
Sighing a little confused, Sora climbed out of the bed to go and look for Riku, dragging a blanket behind while doing so. Somehow he felt safer with that blanket. He strolled out of the room and stopped at the stairs. Which way should he go? Downstairs, or should he stay here and look in the other rooms? There were so many rooms and Sora had no idea what Riku would do in the middle of the night.   
  
Deciding that Riku was either drinking some water in the kitchen, or looking for ice cream, Sora went downstairs. He remembered the time Riku had brought that raspberry ice cream in the middle of the night, intending to play a little. The idea seemed nice right now, nicer than back then, when he wanted to sleep.   
  
As he walked towards the kitchen, he passed the door to the storage room in which Riku was currently standing.  
  
~~  
  
Trying not to laugh, Riku tightly clasped his hand over his mouth, staring at the photo in his hands.  
  
It was Kairi. No that wasn't the thing that made Riku laugh. The thing was, that behind Kairi a person was standing, almost hiding behind her. And that person was no other than Sora.   
  
Not that Sora was something to laugh at, but the way Sora was dressed up in that picture was simply hilarious. He figured that it was some kind of Halloween photo since the background was the beach, decorated with pumpkins. Kairi was wearing a dress, probably trying to look like a princess. Hiding behind her, little Sora was dressed up in furry suit, complete with tail and paws. Two big pointy ears were attached to his hair and his face was painted like a cat's face.   
  
"Lil' Kitty Sora...." Riku muttered, amused by the photo. He wondered why he had never seen that costume before, Sora and Riku had spent every Halloween together. But he had never seen Sora in a kitty outfit.  
  
The blush on the boy's cheeks and the adorable pouting lips were clearly visible on the photo even if he tried to hide behind Kairi.   
  
Riku immediately fell in love with the picture and decided to take it with him as soon as he got out of here. A very good thing to tease Sora with, and of course it was simply cute to see his lovely Sora in such an outfit. Looking at the picture with a smile, he idly wondered whether Sora still had this costume somewhere. Or maybe it belonged to Kairi? If that was the case, then it could be still somewhere in this house, maybe even here in this room?  
  
Grinning, Riku put the picture back to the shelf and started to look for the costume. It would be too great to have Sora wear this again.   
  
~~  
  
Sora searched in the kitchen, no one in sight. He sighed and walked back, passing the door to the closet again. He knew that Kairi kept most of her stuff in there, most of her old stuff or things that were embarrassing. Blushing, he suddenly remembered the time when she had him dress up as a kitten. He had begged her to never do that again and hide the costume somewhere because she refused to burn it.   
  
He shook his head and headed upstairs, back into his room. Riku would come back sooner or later, it was useless to go looking now. Not when Sora felt like breaking down and falling asleep every other second. The boy hummed sleepily and sighed as he finally reached the bedroom again. After dragging himself to the curtains to open them a bit, he crawled into bed and yawned cutely.  
  
"Light," he commanded, finding it a little odd to say light to make it dark. But it was useful, whenever he said light, the light would turn itself on or off. Better than looking for a switch in the dark.  
  
After a few minutes of floating in his mind, Sora fell asleep again, one hand clutching to the sheets on Riku's side....  
  
Riku rummaged around until he found something furry. Smirking satisfied, he pulled out the costume, nearly bumping into all kinds of things. He let out a string of curses and glared at the little room. He couldn't even move properly, and Riku hated to be unable to move almost as much as Sora hated darkness.  
  
He took the costume and chuckled. What great coincidence that he found this photo *and* the costume. As soon as he managed to get out of this room he would get back to Sora. He couldn't wait to see the younger boy's reaction on this. All he knew for sure was that Sora would be absolutely adorable in this costume.  
  
The only problem was now to get out of here. Riku played with the doorknob, trying to get it open. If he only had a hairpin or something thin to use as key, it would probably work. Turning back to the shelf, Riku looked around for something useful. His eyes fell on a pair of keys lying on the shelf and he blinked in surprise. Why hadn't he realized those keys before?  
  
Shrugging, he reached out to take the keys but as soon as they were in his hands, they slipped and fell to the floor, sliding somewhere under a cupboard.   
  
Riku smacked his forehead and groaned. "Stupid haunted house," he grumbled, knowing that it was getting ridiculous. There had to be a way out of this closet. To think that he, Riku, was stuck in this little room, like some idiot... Riku snorted. No way he would stay any longer. He would find a way out.   
  
But even after trying everything unlock the door, nothing seemed to happen. In fact, everything seemed to get worse and Riku was getting frustrated. So frustrated, that he growled in anger and before he knew what he was doing he shoved his foot against the door.  
  
"Shit!" He yelled as the pain stung in his leg. But, much to his surprise, the door was now lying on the floor, out of the hinge.   
  
As he realized that he had really managed to get out, he quickly grabbed the photo and costume and ran upstairs like a starving wolf. Oh the irony, Riku thought. After spending all the time trying to get out he never thought about kicking the door open. Wouldn't that be the first thing to do? Riku snorted. He could be so stupid sometimes.   
  
Nevertheless, he quickly made his way into the room Sora was sleeping in. Finally, he would get back into the room, finally after hours of being locked. And finally, he would get to see Sora's reaction on the costume.  
  
Riku smirked.   
  
~~~~  
  
"Oof!" Selphie piped up, waking Tidus who was currently dreaming of being a Blitzball star.   
  
They were both lying on the sand since they had decided to camp outside tonight. Selphie's eyes were wide open and she cocked her head to one side, resting a hand on her cheek.  
  
Tidus sleepily rubbed his eyes and turned to his girlfriend, wondering what strange idea she would have now.  
  
"I think I know why the room blew up!" She said, so fast that Tidus's sleepy brain had to think over a minute to understand the words.   
  
"Uh...you mean when you tried to curse Kairi...?"   
  
Selphie nodded vigorously and pointed at the list she quickly pulled out. There were a lot of things written on it, stuff like 'Something of Kairi's clothes' or 'Some of Kairi's hair'. Tidus rubbed his eyes again and scratched his head in confusion.  
  
Selphie sighed melodramatically and pointed into the direction of Kairi's house.  
  
"Instead of using exactly Kairi's belongings, I used everything I could find in her house when I was sneaking around in the night--"   
  
Tidus flinched and frowned at Selphie. "You mean you broke into her house at night to steal things?!"   
  
Selphie blinked and cocked her head to the other side, cutely confused.  
  
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."  
  
Tidus's eyes widened. "Selphie, it *is* a bad thing!" He exclaimed, ruffling his hair in shock.  
  
Selphie shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh come on, it's not like she'll ever find out. And I didn't steal anything, I just borrowed it over an undefined span of time," the brunette girl stated as if it was the most common thing.  
  
Tidus stopped everything and stared at Selphie like she was from Mars. The girl stared back but then quickly turned back to her actual topic.  
  
"So when I took the things of her house I didn't really curse Kairi, but her house! Maybe I cursed Kairi too but we'll never know since she's probably currently dying away on a forsaken island, which would be a good story line for a book although it would probably be very boring to read since there are already too many books like that," Selphie ranted, without stopping to breath once. Tidus sighed and grabbed Selphie by the shoulders, pulling her into a kiss to make her stop rambling.  
  
The girl immediately shut up as Tidus's lips met hers and all the trouble about cursed houses or boring story lines were forgotten.  
  
After the kiss, Selphie and Tidus crawled into the tent they had made and Selphie snuggled up with Tidus, falling asleep shortly after.   
  
And somewhere, on a forsaken island near Destiny Islands, a girl was stuck hanging on a tree, trying not to shriek as a huge snake wrapped around her body, the snake's eyes meeting the girl's ones, holding an amused and predatory glint.  
  
"Heeeeeeelp!!"  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: How did you like it? Ne? ne? Review please? Pleaaase? I hope the next chapter comes earlier, my hands are getting better again since I was able to type this here. Anyway, please stay patient and please keep reading! My readers are my reason for life! Love you all! ^^ 


	36. Kitten in the House

Author's Ranting: And here's chapter 36! It's past 1 a.m and I'm dead tired but I just had to get this out of my system. I also have to say that I've been reading a few SchuldigxCrawford lemons before that so maybe my mind was a little hentai today... Riku gets a little dirty and Sora...well... you'll see.   
  
Be ready for kinkiness *hentai grin* no it's not that bad, this is still PG-13 rated. Just a little playing around...  
  
~~~  
  
Riku burst into the room, a smug grin painted on his face. There he was lying, curled up on the bed like a kitten, making Riku grin even more. Oh yes, soon he would really be a kitten.  
  
Sora woke up just as Riku entered the room, rubbing his eyes wearily. He sat up, feeling the presence of someone and forced his eyes open.   
  
"Riku!" He immediately exclaimed, eyes wide in excitement. A cute yawn followed, and Sora flopped down on the bed again, snoring lightly.   
  
Riku raised his eyebrows and took a glance at his boyfriend. "Geez, don't tell me you just woke up, and went to sleep again...."  
  
Seemingly, Sora did fall asleep right after calling Riku's name. Unbeknownst to Riku, Sora hadn't slept well without him, constantly waking up and falling asleep again, a state of being half-awake and half-asleep which was very tiring in the end.   
  
Nevertheless, Riku shrugged and grinned mischievously as he looked at the picture in his hand. He would have so much fun with this.   
  
"Noooo....I dun wanna do this....."  
  
Startled by the muffled voice, Riku turned to see the younger boy mumbling in his sleep, eyebrows drawn together to a frown. His lips were puckered up, practically begging to be kissed. And in an instant, Riku forgot about everything he had planned and simply climbed into bed, pulling Sora on top of him.   
  
His grin had turned into a smile and he used his hand to run through Sora's thick hair, enjoying the strawberry-flavored scent coming from it. Sora seemed to like the shampoo Riku once used on him. A yawn escaped Riku's lips and he realized that he hadn't slept at all during the last few hours. It was now almost dawn and all his efforts to get out of the small room had made him exhausted.   
  
"Love you," The silver haired boy mumbled before kissing Sora's hair affectionately. Then, he wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes, drifting off into a peaceful dream of his beloved Sora...in a kitty outfit...  
  
~~~  
  
Morning came far too early and the first rays of sunlight hit the room through the slightly parted curtains. The light immediately became noticed by Sora and his eyes fluttered open, feeling something warm and protecting around him. Without looking, he knew that Riku was back, and holding him tight. The young boy smiled and nuzzled closer to his love, cuddling a little. He was still too tired to get up but with the sun shining into the room, he had no choice than to stay awake.   
  
As he felt Riku stir too, Sora turned to face Riku. His smile broadened when he saw Riku's grumpy face, eyes sleepy, his cheeks slightly flushed, the silver hair gently sprawled over the pillow. Such a beautiful and adorable sight.   
  
"Good morning, sunshine!" Sora giggled, earning a quiet groan from the older boy. Although Riku was almost always the first one to get up, he wasn't really a morning person, especially when he had only slept two hours after spending the night in a closet.   
  
'The closet!' his mind piped up, making his eyes open. He had totally forgotten about the costume. Now was the best time, Sora was up, both were there, no one to disturb them...  
  
"I got something for you," Riku said after clearing his throat and gently pushing Sora aside. The younger boy raised his eyebrows and sat there like a hungry animal.  
  
"Ya? What? Where were you anyway? I was looking for you...."  
  
Riku didn't reply and crawled out of the bed, vanishing under the bed. Sora was just about to bend over and see what his friend was doing when a photo was shoved into his face.   
  
"Woah! Watch it!" Sora scolded, falling backwards onto the soft mattress. Riku chuckled and placed his arms stretched out on the edge of the bed, resting his head between them. In his hands he was holding the photo.   
  
Sora curiously went on his hands and knees and crawled over to Riku on the king sized bed. He peered at the picture and wrinkled his nose in confusion. Pointing at the photo, he said, "That's Kairi."  
  
Riku chuckled but remained silent. He wanted to see if Sora would say anything about the person behind Kairi.   
  
Sora frowned at Riku for he was wondering why Riku was so quiet, and why the *hell* he was showing him a picture of Kairi. Thinking that there might have been something important in the picture that he had missed, Sora looked closer and concentrated on what he saw.   
  
There was Kairi in her princess outfit, beautiful, he had to admit. And then, behind her there was...  
  
Sora squeaked and jumped about five meters high as he saw the kitty-costume. His ears were burning red, as well as his face, and he covered his mouth to prevent himself from squeaking again.   
  
Riku, highly entertained by the boy's reaction, started laughing, making his chest rumble with the sound. Sora felt like he was burning up, seeing the photo after all this time. He thought he had told Kairi to throw it away.   
  
"Wheredidyougetthispicture?!" Sora whined, trying to take it away from Riku who was still laughing, *and* pulling it away in time so that Sora wouldn't get it.   
  
The brunet leaped towards his boyfriend and fell right on top of him, pinning him down with his weight. For one moment, Riku noticed that Sora had gained weight, but not because he got fat but because he had grown. They were almost equal now.   
  
Sora's hands firmly held Riku's wrists to prevent him from struggling. Looking deep into the other's eyes, Sora slowly bend down, as if wanting to kiss Riku, but just before their lips brushed his head snapped to the side and he took the photo from Riku's right hand with his teeth.  
  
Grinning triumphantly, Sora let go of Riku and stood up, taking the picture into his hand and walking towards the trash bin, intending to throw it away.   
  
"Wait!" Riku cried out just before he let go of it.  
  
"What?" Sora answered, not turning to face him.  
  
Riku shuffled around and sighed. "I want to keep that picture. It's so cute...."  
  
Sora felt himself blush again and he shook his head. "No way, Riku! This is so embarrassing, this should have never happened. Me in that costume...it's like you in a bunny suit!"  
  
A strange image crossed both of their minds, Riku shaking his head in disgust and fear of becoming an uke, Sora nearly bursting into laughter at the thought of Riku dressing up. Both were silent for a while and Riku watched Sora stand right in front of the trash bin.   
  
His eyes were fixed on him, and then Sora suddenly let go of the picture, letting it fall into the trash.  
  
"Hey!" Riku whined, crossing his arms like a stubborn child. Sora grinned and shrugged.   
  
"What 'hey'?" he innocently asked, blinking his big blue eyes at the silver haired boy. Riku tried to look disappointed and hurt, but then his grin came up again. Sora immediately blinked in confusion, wondering what Riku was up to.  
  
Riku jumped behind the bed, crawling under it again to pull out something else. Sora hoped that it was not a copy of the photo.   
  
"Don't worry, it's not!" Riku called, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Sighing, Sora decided to simply wait until Riku came with whatever he was hiding. It couldn't be worse than the photo, right?  
  
"And now, ladies and gentlemen....." Riku laughed as he came out from under the bed. He was hiding something behind his back and Sora could see that the thing was furry...  
  
"We now present...." His smirk was so smug that Sora almost wanted to punch him in order to wipe that smirk away.   
  
"...the KITTY-COSTUME!"   
  
Sora's eyes nearly fell out as he saw what Riku was presenting him.  
  
"No...." he whispered, too shocked to actually speak aloud. By the time his brain manufactured the situation, his face was already glowing bright red. Riku found it very cute and walked over to place a small kiss on his love's nose, just to see how he would react.  
  
Sora immediately jerked away, staring in confusion. "W-what do you want me to do with this costume...?" he slowly asked, not able to believe that Riku would want him to wear this. It was ridiculous. It was a children's costume for Halloween. He wouldn't fit in anyway.   
  
Riku smirked and placed the outfit into Sora's hands. "I want you to wear it," he simply stated.  
  
Sora rolled his eyes. "I was seven when I wore that! Its way too small for me now!"  
  
Riku's grin vanished for a second, as he seemed to think that over, but immediately came back as he rushed to the drawer to find a pair of scissors.   
  
Grinning triumphantly, he rushed back to Sora and took the costume. Sora watched his friend as he started to cut around like a professional trailor.   
  
After a few minutes, he nodded to himself and turned back to Sora, presenting him the "updated version of kitty-costume".   
  
Sora was too shocked to even bother to widen his eyes. There was simply no reaction to fit this.   
  
The outfit now looked like some sort of Playboy costume, the furry full body suit now turned into a belly revealing top and a pair of shorts with a tail attached.   
  
"Riku," Sora stuttered, "I'm, I'm not wearing this." He shook his head vigorously, finding it very odd that he actually didn't mind at all. The thought of dressing up like that to turn Riku on had already crossed his mind before, he even thought that it would be fun.   
  
"Oh yes, you are," Riku confidently said, grabbing Sora by the shoulders to pull him into a fierce kiss. They hadn't shared such a kiss in a long time. They had been all lovey-dovey lately, but not like this.   
  
As Riku pulled away, he still had that smirk on his face, raising one eyebrow at Sora.   
  
"Go change into the costume. Just once, do it for me, please?"   
  
Sora found himself nodding, almost as if Riku was controlling his mind. He took the ridiculous outfit and went into the bathroom next to their bedroom to change. He didn't need Riku watch him while changing into that thing.   
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile, on a deserted island.   
  
Kairi panted heavily, sinking down on the sand. The snake was gone, thanks to a giant birdlike thing, the snake quickly fled. But just as Kairi thought she was saved, the bird-thingy started to follow her, probably trying to catch her. So she ran, ran as fast as she can until she ended up in yet another quarter of the forest. This forest seemed to be endless, although the island itself didn't seem that big.  
  
Sighing, Kairi thought of Riku, wondering what he and Sora were currently doing. She still had that silly crush on Riku, even though she started to remember things of Sora, too. At one time she hated them both, then loved Riku with all her heart, then hated him again, got nostalgic with her feelings for Sora, hated him afterwards....  
  
It was like an endless spiral of feelings.   
  
The girl sighed yet again and shook her head. "I will get my revenge, and then I can be at peace. Just have to make a plan that will surely work...." Cackling evilly, she mentally patted herself on the back for her decision. Riku and Sora still had to pay for everything they had done to her.  
  
"They will pay...." she repeated, stopping suddenly as she felt something tap her back.  
  
"Huh?" She turned around to see a snake's cold eyes staring at her.  
  
"Iaaaaaaa nooooooo!" She screamed, sprinting away from the monster. As she was gone, the two yellow bugs, looking like eyes, that had been sitting on the vine Kairi had mistaken for the snake, crawled away, almost seeming somewhat amused.   
  
~~~  
  
"Are you quite done?" Riku impatiently asked.   
  
A muffled reply came back and Sora went to open the door.   
  
Riku covered his mouth with his hands as he took in the sight before him. He wanted to laugh his head off, but at the same time he felt his pants grow somewhat tight.   
  
"Happy?" Sora muttered, looking down at the ground, blushing deeply. The outfit now showed way too much skin for his taste, he felt exposed. And the ears didn't want to stay in place since his hair was so messy. Riku, however, seemed pleased with the costume.  
  
Grinning, Riku used his index finger to lift up his boyfriend's chin and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss.  
  
"Very happy," he winked, his hand wandering down to Sora's tail.  
  
Sora jumped slightly and snapped his head back to see what Riku was doing.   
  
"Riku, stop pulling on my tail!" he whined, pouting cutely. Riku snickered and pulled a little more.   
  
"You do know that this sounded awfully wrong, right?"   
  
Sora turned an interesting shade of red and stared down at his feet. Riku laughed out loud and sighed contently. No matter what happened, Sora was still the cutest being of the whole universe. He reached up to pat his head and then wrapped his arms around the boy to embrace him. Sora's head was resting on Riku's shoulder and the older boy felt Sora relax.  
  
"Next time I'll have you wear a bunny suit...." Sora sourly muttered as his hands drew circles on Riku's back.  
  
The silver haired boy smirked. "Oh so there will be a next time one of us dresses up? Sora, Sora, you're getting kinky, you know that?"  
  
Riku could feel Sora blush, the heat on his cheeks and the rising heat of his whole body was invading Riku's cool skin. Sora purred slightly and Riku smiled, loving that sound.   
  
They both stood there for a while, simply embracing each other in silence and contentment. Even Sora had to smile a bit when he thought about this. It was embarrassing as hell to run around like this, but it was just for Riku, just for fun, so it wouldn't be that bad, he supposed.   
  
"Where did you get this stuff, anyway?" Sora suddenly asked, though he was not moving.   
  
"In that storage room near the kitchen," Riku replied, not really in the mood to talk about his adventure.   
  
"Oh, that's where you have been. But what were you doing so long in there? I woke up at midnight to look for you and then I woke up every other hour to see that you were not there."  
  
Riku sighed and absently let his hand travel down to Sora's ass.   
  
"I was stuck..." he quietly muttered, a bit embarrassed about getting stuck in a stupid closet for the night.  
  
Sora didn't say anything, knowing that it could hurt Riku's pride to laugh at him now, but he was chuckling quietly as he pictured the silver haired boy stuck in that room.   
  
Riku grunted and tried to forget that all this ever happened. On the other hand, if he hadn't been there, he wouldn't have found this costume...  
  
"Riku...." Sora softy murmured, as he felt Riku's hand.   
  
"Yes, love?" Riku answered, equally soft.  
  
"...Stop...pulling...my...tail...."   
  
Riku began to snicker and Sora whined, trying to struggle away from his captor holding his tail. This costume was so fun, Riku thought....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Hmm finally managed to write this. To be honest, I'm getting a little bored with this fic right now, but that's only because I've having my Weiß Kreuz obsession again. I'm too busy reading SchuxBrad or RanxKen fics that I don't really know how to continue Next Lesson. But I'll still try to update. Oh and Kairi is not dead and will not die! I decided to let her live, maybe she's going to be the comedy relief or some sort of.. I dunno. I just keep her, she's necessary. Kay that's it. I'm tired, read and review, bye bye til the next chappy! 


	37. Missing

Author's Ranting: Long awaited chapter 37! *no one's here* huh? HEY! Where are my readers?!  
  
Sephiroth: They're gone cause you didn't update, annoying mortal girl.  
  
FL-chan: Whaaaat?? NOoOoOoOoOoOo!!  
  
Sephiroth: Can it. If you had updated earlier there might have been some ppl left but now they all forgot about this. Hah, take that, Frozen!  
  
FL-chan: NOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo!! *wails*  
  
Sephiroth: -_-' If anyone's reading this... ignore those random ramblings of the FrozenLioness, sanity has left her long time ago.....  
  
~~~  
  
"I'm bored...." Riku muttered, sitting cross legged on the floor. Sora was curled up on the bed, trying to sleep. The kitty costume was now safely put into the closet, hidden under lots of clothes.   
  
"Then go do something," Sora sleepily answered, not in the mood to deal with Riku's desires right now. He hadn't slept well and he was tired. Maybe Riku didn't need as much sleep as Sora did but that was no reason for the younger boy to spend all his time awake.  
  
"I don't want to. I'm bored," Riku replied, sounding annoyed as he used his finger to draw random patterns on the carpet.   
  
"Riku..." Sora sighed and rolled over to look at the annoying boy on the floor. Why was Riku acting so childish? That was more than out of character. Maybe he needed more sleep.  
  
"I'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mboredI'mbored!" Riku paused, shaking his head and then rubbed his temple. He sighed and looked helplessly at Sora. He felt like he would burst from energy. Maybe that was the way Selphie always felt.  
  
"I'm bored."  
  
Sora smacked his forehead but was unable to repress the smile creeping up to his lips.   
  
"Riku, you really act like an infant when you're tired," he laughed, slightly wiping at his eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.   
  
Riku snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not tired. Unlike a certain *kitten* I don't need to sleep all day," he sharply replied, fighting the yawn that wanted to escape his lips so badly. He would not admit that he was tired, not with all the adrenalin in him. He felt like running around, like fighting seriously or swimming through the ocean until he couldn't go on. He needed something to exhaust him. He heaved a long sigh and remembered the days when he and Sora fought each other as though their lives depended on it. It was a good training.  
  
"I feel like sparring," The silver haired boy declared while his eyes were still distant as if he were thinking of something.  
  
Sora rolled his eyes and shrugged. No use in arguing, he thought. Either he went out to spar with Riku and had some fun, or he tried to sleep while the stubborn teen whined about being bored.  
  
"Fine, fine. As long as you stop being such a child," Sora muttered, climbing out of the bed.   
  
Riku jumped up from his position on the floor and flashed his friend a smirk. "Yeah, I know, that's your job." He winked, making Sora's heart beat faster and his cheeks redden although he was trying to fight this reaction. The statement should have offended him, but Riku's charm was like magic, and Sora could only think of how wonderful Riku was.  
  
"Race ya!"   
  
Sora blinked at the spot where Riku had just been standing, before he realized the competition.   
  
"Hey! That's not fair!" he called after his friend, sprinting out of the room to see that Riku was already running down the stairs.  
  
"You cheater!" Sora wailed, stumbling towards the staircase. Being slightly more agile than Riku, the younger boy hopped onto the banisters and happily slid all the way down. He was grinning at his triumph as he passed the running Riku, sticking his tongue out at his friend. Sora reached the floor a few seconds before Riku and dusted himself off as the silver haired boy stumbled directly into him, sending them both onto the floor.  
  
"I won, cheater!" The younger boy poked his friend's chest only to have Riku smirking at him.  
  
"Nuh-uh, not yet. Race ya to the Paopu tree! Oh and, besides, you're the cheater! Sliding down the banisters like that," Riku shook his head mockingly, starting to get up while dusting himself off. Sora stuck his tongue out once again and stood up, straightening his clothes.  
  
Then, both stood there, ready to run but still not moving. Riku was watching Sora from the corner of his eyes and Sora was staring ahead as if waiting for Riku to appear before him so he could chase after him.  
  
Something was missing, both thought at that moment.  
  
'No cheating, guys, you know it! Ok, ready? Go!' the voice of Kairi flared up in both of them, sending shivers down Riku's spine and making Sora feel slightly awkward. But as if on cue, both began to run as they remembered Kairi's voice and Riku was, like always, a few steps before Sora. They exited the house, racing through the island.  
  
The brunet clenched his teeth and carried on to run as fast as he could until he was nearly beside the silver haired boy. When they were side by side, Sora could see Riku struggling to keep up the pace. His eyes were half-lidded and he was already panting, which was very unlikely for Riku.  
  
"What's...the...matter?!" Sora gasped, trying to ask, while he still gave his all to stay next to the silver haired boy. Riku didn't seem to hear him and continued to struggle and eventually, he was starting to sweat. Sora frowned but realized that Riku was getting faster again and flung himself forward so he could keep up with his friend.  
  
Riku felt his body go numb and his brain felt paralyzed. He should have been asleep or even unconscious long time ago, but somehow he still couldn't find his rest. So his body kept on moving, simply guided by his restlessness. When he saw the Paopu tree, he found a new energy blazing through him, forcing him to go even faster, even though Sora was already far behind.  
  
Turning his head back, he flashed a challenging smirk at his friend, calling, "What's up, slowpoke? I thought you were better than that!"  
  
Sora nearly stumbled at the remark and clenched his teeth in frustration. How could he be so fast? Sora growled and began to put all his energy into his legs, running at an almost inhuman pace until he caught up with the silver haired boy.  
  
Riku continued to smirk and dashed the last few feet with all his strength and will power, winning the race.   
  
Sora came stumbling a few seconds after, panting helplessly as he sacked against the tree.   
  
"No...fair..." he managed to gasp out while his heartbeat and breathing refused to calm down.   
  
Riku grinned and picked up the swords lying next to the tree. Sora's sword was slightly lighter than his, and it didn't have the beautiful carving on it... His eyes fell on his own sword, seeing the words Sora had carved into the handle, for his birthday. He felt a familiar warmth embrace his heart and sighed dreamily at the memory. Sora was so wonderful.   
  
Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts and smirked once again. "Catch," he called before the sword hit Sora straight in the face.  
  
"Riku!" Sora wailed, scowling at his friend's laughing face as he rubbed his forehead.   
  
"Hey, I can't help if you're so slow," Riku winked, challenging Sora even more. The brunet hissed and grabbed the sword in determination.   
  
"You want me to beat you so bad, huh? Well, I can do that. Just don't whine on me when you're all hurt and beaten!" His expression held pure anger and Riku found himself loving this face. He hadn't seen Sora scowl like that in a long time, maybe never. Sora always looked up to him and was always the clumsy and cute one, but now, now Sora looked so grown and serious. Riku liked that, in a way.   
  
"Yeah yeah, whatever, Sora," the silver haired boy lazily replied, waving him off with a smirk. Sora growled deep in his throat and tightened his grip on his sword.   
  
Riku couldn't wait for Sora to attack and did something he had never done. He attacked first. Sora was surprised by the sudden change of mind and nearly fell on his butt while he blocked Riku's sword.  
  
Riku smirked and shook his head. "I thought you wanted to hurt me? Well, I don't think you're serious about this." Riku felt another adrenalin rush coming up and he suddenly wished that Sora would really be strong enough to beat him. He wanted to fight his heart out, he had to find a way to contain all his sudden energy.   
  
Sora snorted and started attacking Riku, getting faster with every move. Soon, Riku began to have difficulties with blocking every attack and got hit a few times. The younger boy concentrated on fighting though he also took care that he wouldn't hurt Riku too much. He didn't want any of them getting hurt just by sparring.  
  
Riku countered all he could and his lips curled up into a satisfied smile. This was it. This was fighting, he thought. Sora continued the merciless blows and Riku continued to counter attack as much as he could, both of them totally concentrated on their fight. The smile on the silver haired boy's lips broadened with every move until he suddenly stopped, stretching his arms out and leaning his head back.  
  
Sora saw this too late and struck his love with a hard blow of his sword, making a small cut on Riku's shirt and leaving a red mark on his stomach.   
  
"Ah! No!" Sora exclaimed as he saw what he had done. Riku fell backwards, his body meeting the soft grass.   
  
"Riku!" The younger boy rushed to his boyfriend and stared at him in concern. As he saw Riku's face, he wrinkled his nose in confusion. Riku was...smiling.  
  
A few seconds later, Riku began to laugh despite the wound on his stomach. It was content laughter, coming straight from the heart. He sounded so happy that Sora couldn't help but smile, too.   
  
Riku continued to laugh as he crawled towards the tree to lean on it. Sora watched him with a smile and picked up their swords to lay them neatly together.  
  
"That was....liberating," Riku chuckled as his eyes met the sky. It was a beautiful day, the sky was as blue as Sora's eyes with no single cloud out there, looking like an endless abyss.   
  
"You're already better than me...the student has already become the teacher..." Riku's voice sounded so distant and relaxed, almost as if he was talking to himself, barely managing to stay awake. Sora blushed slightly and shook his head, twiddling his thumbs at the flattery.   
  
"I'm...I'm not better than you, Riku. You just stood there and I struck you, you let me hit you. I'm far from being better than you," he mumbled, unable to believe that he would really surpass Riku. Even though he craved to be better, even though they had their everyday struggle to be the winner in their everlasting competition, Sora never really thought of topping Riku.   
  
Riku just smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying Sora's slightly confused and flattered expression as he felt the younger boy watch him.  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile, on the other end of the island, in a small cave.  
  
"Uh...so... I need to tell ya something, ya..." Wakka mumbled, nervously throwing his Blitzball around.   
  
Tidus shrugged and sat down on the ground rubbing his arms. It was cold in here.   
  
Wakka caught his ball and stared at the ground, mumbling something incoherently. Tidus raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to one side.   
  
"Why?" he asked, seemingly familiar with Wakka's mumbling and therefor able to understand what he said.   
  
Wakka shrugged and sat down next to his friend, sighing deeply. "It's not like I like her so much... it's just... like something's missing when she's not here," the redhead explained as he unconsciously inched closer to Tidus.   
  
Tidus frowned and shook his head. "Well, I don't know but maybe you're right. Kairi's always been there and now she's gone. It's kinda strange..."   
  
The two boys sat together, almost touching but not quite, and Wakka began throwing his ball against the wall, catching it every time it came back. Tidus absently watched him and let his thoughts wander aimlessly, occasionally stumbling over Kairi, sometimes lingering on Selphie and Wakka though he didn't know why he was seeing Wakka in front of his mind's eye. Maybe it was just because he was right before of him.  
  
"It's not like she's an evil witch..." Wakka began to mumble, eyebrows drawn together in thought. "Maybe she's been mean to Sora and Riku, and all of us. But I think that we were mean, too..."  
  
Tidus listened to his friend and reviewed the past weeks. He was right. They had been mean to Kairi, confusing her with their show, and teaming up against her. It was a little unfair, no matter what she did to Riku and Sora.   
  
"And maybe she could change. Maybe we can all be friends again. Because it's like something's missing when she's not here. It's just not right. It was always Sora, Riku and Kairi. There were three of them, and the three of us. We used to be one big family, remember?"  
  
Tidus nodded.   
  
"Do you think Sora and Riku would allow us to bring Kairi back," the younger boy quietly asked, not sure if that's what Wakka was aiming at.  
  
The redhead caught his ball again and turned to stare at Tidus. He was staring directly into the other boy's eyes and Tidus almost began to feel uncomfortable. Wakka's concentrated face made him worry.   
  
Then, the redhead's expression turned into a smile and Wakka nodded. "That's what I was thinking. Though I don't think I'll go ask Sora and Riku for permission. I'll bring Kairi back for sure... You're in?" He extended his hand towards a hesitant looking Tidus.  
  
The blond boy looked away, thinking. "I think... I think I have to ask Selphie first. I don't want to upset her. But if she's okay with it, I'll help you."  
  
Wakka nodded and straightened himself to get up. Tidus followed suit and they smiled at each other.   
  
"We're going to bring her back and then we'll work this out. We're going to be a family again, ya?"   
  
Tidus grinned and they high-fived before walking out of the cave. Tidus just hoped Selphie wouldn't bite his head off for asking about this.  
  
~~  
  
"Come here," Riku gestured his friend to come sit on his lap. Smiling, Sora accepted the invitation and slowly lowered himself, snaking his delicate arms around the silver haired boy's neck. Riku sighed contently as he felt Sora press against him and started to nuzzle the younger boy's collarbone, inhaling his love's scent. The older boy smiled dreamily and turned Sora around, wrapping his arms tightly around him from behind. Sora tilted his head to one side, allowing Riku to nip on his neck for a while, before he placed his head on Sora's shoulder.  
  
Sora could feel Riku's hair tickling his neck and cheek, and reached up his hand to pat the other boy's head. His hand lingered and curled into the silver locks, curling and uncurling in a soft motion. Soon, Riku's breath was even and slow, and Sora noted that his boyfriend had fallen asleep - finally.  
  
"Sweet dreams, love," Sora whispered, smiling idly as he felt Riku unconsciously nuzzling closer to him while he tightened his arms in a possessive way. There he sat, letting his sleeping beauty hold him while he actually began to feel hungry. Hopefully Riku would wake up before he began to starve.  
  
Sora chuckled and heaved a sigh. For Riku, he'd gladly starve to death.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Oh my god. Finally. It was *so* hard to write this. I have a total writer's block. Is anyone there? I hope someone still reads this story *sobsob* 


	38. Missing pt II

Author's Ranting: um... chapter 38 is here, too. still no one reading this? *wails* please please read! I promise to update more often! Or at least I try.. I'm so sorry, I'm fighting my writer's block.. I'm still in a slump. *sobsob*  
  
~~~  
  
Sora sighed. *Now* he was really getting hungry. No matter how he tried to escape Riku's arms, the silver haired boy's arms were tightly locked around him. And Riku showed no intention in waking up. Sora sighed again. Two hours had passed. This was stupid.   
  
"Come on, Riku," he muttered, trying to wriggle out of his boyfriend's death grip, but every time he struggled, Riku's arms seemed to tighten. Eventually, the brunet gave up and went limp in his love's arms.   
  
"Might as well stay here," he quietly muttered, closing his eyes. He had wanted to sleep before Riku challenged him, maybe he could use the time and sleep now, before Riku had another idea to exhaust them. As his eyes were closed, he saw the photo of Kairi and himself on Halloween. Kairi had been wearing her pink dress. Pink...Kairi seemed to like the color and Sora winced at the memory of her horrible room. Still, her dress had been pretty and she had looked so beautiful, just like a real princess.   
  
His lips formed a small smile at the memory. Somehow, he missed Kairi. Not the evil one who was trying to break them up, but the sweet and caring Kairi, the girl that had dreamt about being a princess so much. Sora wondered why Kairi had changed into this. They had been friends for so long and they had had so much fun together, Sora longed for those times to return.   
  
"It all started when...." He wasn't aware that he had voiced his thoughts and was startled by his own voice. He opened his eyes and looked at the horizon in front of him. It had all started with their kiss. Or even before. It was when...when Kairi and Sora became a couple. This was the time when their friendship was shattered.   
  
Suddenly, he felt the urge to hear Riku's voice. He wanted to hear Riku talk to him, in a casual and friendly way, just to prove that they were still friends. He didn't want to be just lovers, just a couple, like he had been with Kairi. He wanted to have his friends as well.  
  
"Riku... please tell me we're still friends...please..." he silently pleaded, knowing that Riku wouldn't answer. On the other hand, they were still acting like friends, weren't they? Riku had just challenged him to race him and then to spar with him, just like they had done when they were little. And again, Kairi came to his mind. When they were standing at the stairs, both seemed to be waiting for something. They'd been waiting for someone to tell them to run.  
  
Usually, Kairi was being their judge, but ever since she was gone... It felt like something was missing. Sora frowned. He wondered if Riku was feeling it, too. Riku seemed to dislike Kairi the most, but Sora already began to miss her. Not the Kairi that wanted to break them up, but the Kairi that had been their friend.  
  
"...I'm...gonna...beatyou..."   
  
Sora was startled out of his thoughts as he heard Riku mumble something into this neck. He wrinkled his nose and eventually began snickering. Riku was sleep talking.  
  
"The best..." He heard him mumble, "I'm...the..."  
  
As Sora listened further, he snickered even more. Riku could be so full of himself. 'Even in his dreams he has to talk like that, heh,' Sora thought, smiling while he shook his head carefully enough not to wake his dreaming friend.  
  
~~  
  
Tidus scratched his head in confusion. Selphie was no where in sight. She wasn't at home, which was normal, but she wasn't at the beach either. He had looked for her in tree house but she wasn't there. She wasn't under the waterfall. She wasn't at the pier. She was nowhere!  
  
"Seeeeelphie!" Tidus cried as loud as he could. No answer. Tidus began to worry, although, Selphie couldn't be in trouble. She was just too hyper to be in serious trouble. She couldn't be in danger, right? Tidus tried to reassure himself although he was also doubting this theory. Even Selphie could be in danger, considering that she was nowhere to be found.  
  
As he stood there, looking at the sand, he thought he heard someone cry. Startled by the sound, he frowned and perked up his ears to listen harder. Indeed, it was someone crying. Only lightly sobbing, though. It wasn't like a baby's bawl.  
  
Confused, Tidus tried to follow the sound. It led him to the secret place. He stopped at the entrance, wondering who except for Sora, Riku and Kairi would enter there. It was like their secret place, and the rest of the kids wouldn't enter there. Not usually, at least.   
  
Again, the sobbing was audible and Tidus shrugged, deciding to take a look inside. Slowly, he stepped through the entrance of the small cave and made his way through the path until he came into the actual cave. At first, all he could see was the door at the end of the place. Then, his eyes fell on something yellow, crouched on the floor.   
  
"S-Selphie?" Tidus frowned and slowly approached the huddled up mass on the floor. It was Selphie. And she was the source of the sobbing sound.  
  
"Hey Selph," he began, still frowning in worry, "what's wrong?"   
  
Selphie gulped and straightened himself, rubbing at her eyes. She sat up and looked at Tidus with an unreadable expression.  
  
"I wasn't crying..." she stated as if it was a crime to cry. Tidus waved her off and brushed out her hair out of her face.   
  
"No, of course you weren't," he said with a smile, and then, "but what are you doing in here?"  
  
The girl turned around and pointed at a drawing on the cave's wall. It was the drawing Sora and Kairi had done when they were kids.   
  
"They're giving each other the Paopu fruit," she explained. Tidus nodded, he could see it. But what was this about?  
  
Selphie shook her head and sighed, looking down. This was the source of everything. The day when Riku had given Sora the Paopu fruit, hinting that he should give it to Kairi. Sora had wanted to give her the fruit so badly that he drew this picture. And Kairi drew the same. They were giving each other the fruit. This was when it started, and Selphie hated it.   
  
"I miss Kairi," she suddenly said, so low that Tidus almost didn't hear it. "I miss my friend," she continued, raising her voice slightly so that it was more audible. She sighed and shook her head. "She was my best friend, we had so much stuff to talk about, but then suddenly, all she talked about was Sora. Sora this, Sora that. Bragging about what Sora would do for her. It annoyed me. And she ordered me around like I was her slave. She changed, and I don't know why. Maybe it was because of this..." She looked at the drawing again, narrowing her eyes at it.  
  
"Do you think she was really in love with Sora?" Selphie asked, looking at Tidus with a questioning look.  
  
The blond didn't know what to say and merely shrugged. The girl sighed again and hung her head. "If she were, then she wouldn't act so selfish, would she? But then again, maybe she loves him so much that she can't bear his loss. Why did she have to fall in love with him in the first place? Why did Riku had to fall in love with Sora? We were all friends, until this happened. I can't say that I don't like the idea of Sora and Riku as a couple because they're just so perfect for each other...."   
  
She suddenly paused, grinning at the collection of photos she had made, but then shook her head to continue with her thoughts, "but Kairi seems to be out of her mind because of this. I don't want her to be like that. I want the old Kairi back. I want the Kairi that did all the girl stuff with me, the Kairi that helped me make pendants and jewelry out of seashells..."  
  
As Selphie stopped talking, Tidus remembered Wakka's idea.   
  
"Do you want her back?" he bluntly asked.   
  
Selphie's eyes snapped up to meet his, and she stared at him with a surprised and confused look. But she nodded, if only slowly, but she nodded in agreement.   
  
Tidus began to smile and before Selphie knew what was happening, he pulled her into a hug, smiling so much that she had to smile too.  
  
"What's this about?" she curiously asked, unable to make her smile go away. She felt like there was something good, something that would make them happy again.  
  
Tidus pulled away and patted Selphie's head, affectionally. "We're going to bring Kairi back. First of all, we need to undo the curse of her house, remember? Then we'll get her back from that island. When she's back, we'll work this out. It was Wakka's idea, but we all want to be a family again. We're going to change Kairi back the way she was so we can all be friends again!"  
  
The words came flowing out so quickly but Selphie was able to understand everything for her brain was suddenly working on doubled pace. She was already thinking of a way to undo the curse and then to find a solution for their problem. Yes, they would get their friend back, their Kairi.  
  
They smiled.   
  
~~  
  
Riku yawned, forcing his eyes to open although he wanted to sleep even more. Something was growling and then he realized that it was his stomach. Or was it Sora's? The silver haired boy raised his head, away from Sora's shoulder, and unwrapped his arms to free his friend from his grip.  
  
"Sora?" he tentatively asked.   
  
The boy stirred, obviously asleep, too and eventually began opened his eyes.   
  
"Huh? Kairi?"  
  
Riku winced and frowned. "W-what?"  
  
Sora opened his eyes fully and rubbed his face, yawning once. "What, what?" he replied, turning around on Riku's lap to face him.  
  
The older boy blinked and pursed his lips together in a sulk.   
  
"You said 'Kairi'..."  
  
Sora blinked, just like Riku did, and shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "Did I?" He looked sheepishly at Riku and then decided to tell him what he had been thinking about while Riku was sleeping.  
  
When Riku heard all that, he felt strange. In fact, he didn't quite know how to feel. Of course, Sora was right. They had been friends, and even he felt that something was missing. But could they really make Kairi change back into the girl she was? People didn't just change like that. He was sceptic regarding this. Sora's quivering lower lip, however, made him change his mind and he sighed, rolling his eyes.  
  
"O~kay, I get it. You want your friend back, fine. As long as I don't have to share you...." he purred, licking his lips.   
  
Sora's lips stopped quivering and he grinned. "Nah, I'm all yours. Just want to have the old Kairi back so nothing's missing."  
  
Riku shrugged and nodded. "Fine. I have to admit that something feels out of place when she's not here. But I don't want her hanging over me, remember, she had a crush on me..." He shuddered at the mere thought and Sora giggled.  
  
"Oh, come on. I bet you even liked it. Isn't it great to have someone drool over you?"  
  
Riku flashed Sora a smirk and traced his index finger over his nose. "Yeah it is, but I just need one person drooling over me." He winked, using his finger to wipe at the younger boy's mouth, as though there was drool.   
  
Sora pouted and stuck out his tongue, reverting to his cute self. "You just want to rape me."  
  
Riku burst into laughter, funny how this line always made him laugh. "Uh-huh, right. Sora, if I wanted to rape you, you'd already be on the floor."  
  
And in one swift moment, Riku was pinning Sora down, smirking at him. Much to Riku's surprise, Sora smirked right back and before he knew what was going on, he was the one pinned down on the grass, Sora hovering over him.  
  
"How--how did you do that?"  
  
Sora merely grinned and leaned down to steal a kiss. "Magic," he whispered.  
  
Riku growled but it wasn't from anger. He was amazed by Sora's abilities. He could be sensual, he could be cute, he could beat him while fighting. Sora was getting better than him in everything.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not," Sora reassured, as if reading Riku's thoughts. The silver haired boy blinked and then smirked.   
  
"You're not, what?"   
  
Sora grinned and kissed him again. "Better than you. I don't compare myself to you anymore," he whispered against the other boy's lips. Riku was dumbfounded.   
  
"I'm all yours, and you're mine. You're perfect in my eyes and you'll always be."  
  
All Riku could do was stare into Sora's sky blue eyes, letting the words sink in. A moment of silence passed until Riku was able to speak again.   
  
"Wow..." he murmured, blinking several times. Sora smiled proudly. He finally managed to impress Riku.  
  
Suddenly Riku smirked and brought up his hand to poke lightly Sora's forehead.  
  
"Have you been reading Selphie's romance novels?"  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: uh.. do you like the way this is going? I just figured that I need Kairi back. Don't worry, for everyone who hates Kairi, she's not going to be all nice and they won't love her or anything... nope, she's just there to bring some new trouble. I hope I can write this. If anyone's got ideas about what should happen, tell me! Because I'm lacking ideas and motivation, this is really bad. Please review and tell me what to do! 


	39. Irresistable Bunny

Author's Ranting:   
  
FrozenLioness: *doesn't know what to say* Um...sorry? *hangs head*  
  
Sephiroth: You're totally messing up, do you know that?   
  
FrozenLioness: *sighs* I know, I know. I'm really trying to write but it's just... hmpf...  
  
Sephiroth: *shakes head* Pathetic brat. Next time you write, try to do it better. This chapter sucks!  
  
FrozenLioness: *sobs* sorry.... *falls to her knees and begs* Sorry to all of you, I don't know what's wrong, I just can't write anymore! Maybe it's because I was so busy planning the birthday update for my webiste...13th July is the day one which my website gets on year old and I've been planning updates and changes for the birthday. So that's what kept me so busy.   
  
Sephiroth: That's an excuse for the delayed update here. But still no excuse for this crappy thing you've written.  
  
FrozenLioness: *sighs* sorry... err and whoops for the spelling mistakes, my beta hasn't read this yet, so... bah, sorry once again! -_-  
  
~~~  
  
"For your information, I do no read those sappy novels about a poor girl falling on love with that rich guy and--whoops..."  
  
Sora quickly covered his mouth with his hands, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity.   
  
Riku chuckled. "Sora, I was only joking." He winked at the smaller boy and moved to push him off, only to have Sora press him down harder.   
  
"Nuh-uh, you're not getting up now," Sora teased, successfully straddling the other's hips. Riku raised one eyebrow and temporarily stopped struggling.   
  
"Time for a new lesson, Riku," the brunet seductively purred, leaning down until their faces were almost touching. Riku tensed and narrowed his eyes for a moment. Then, his lips formed a smirk and he quickly leaned up to steal a kiss from Sora, surprising the younger boy. Sora blinked and Riku used the opportunity to roll them over, so that Riku was pinning Sora to the ground.  
  
"So...you want another lesson? How about we start with...." The silver haired boy used his right hand to take both of Sora's hands, pulling them over his head as though he was going to handcuff them to the Paopu tree. If he had had something to tie him up he would have done it, but instead, he just held them up, using his hands as handcuffs.  
  
"...seduction of young, naive, boys?"  
  
Riku let his other hand wander under Sora's shirt, letting his finger tips float over the sensitive skin.   
  
Sora arched his back and inhaled sharply at the maddening touches.   
  
"Rule one," the silver haired boy whispered, running his tongue over his friend's cheek, "always make sure to give your victim enough pleasure to want more," he kissed the cheek, "but never satisfy completely," he pulled away, smirking at Sora's scowl.   
  
"Riku," Sora whined, trying to struggle out of Riku's deathgrip while his body seemed more concentrated on Riku's other hand, stroking his stomach.   
  
Riku kept his smirk and narrowed his eyes, thinking of the next rule. He was making everything up just in this moment, so he was somewhat proud of himself for keeping Sora busy enough not to notice. And boy, was he keeping him busy. Sora whimpered and gasped just because of Riku's touches, and he wasn't even near the region he wanted to be.   
  
"Rule two...."  
  
Riku let go of Sora's wrists and withdrew his hand from Sora's stomach. He brushed his lips against the other's eyelids, to keep them closed, and then reached to take Sora into his arms, crushing Sora's body to his own. His hands sneaked, once again, under the shirt and began massaging Sora's back while he showered Sora with kisses.   
  
"Make your victim feel loved," he whispered into the other's ear, kissing him tenderly. Sora mewled and melted into Riku's embrace. All of his thoughts about dominance were gone, he didn't see any point in continuing that idea, not when Riku was doing something like this to him.   
  
Riku loved giving pleasure to Sora, especially when he got responses like this. The boy in his arms had already melted into a puddle and was only purring and mewling under his touches. Deciding, that it was time to go on, Riku stopped his kisses and caress and tenderly pushed Sora to the ground again.   
  
"So, how are you doing so far?" he asked with a seductive smile, tilting his head to one side.   
  
Sora's eyes were closed and he was panting. "C-could you...repeat that?" he breathed, voice hoarse and distant.   
  
Riku grinned. "Oh, you didn't get it the first time? Well, I guess I'm a nice teacher...." He put a finger to his chin, as though he was thinking the request over.   
  
"Yup, fine, we'll do it again. Just to make sure you got it right. And then we'll go on."   
  
He waited for Sora's response, but realized that the brunet was still unable to do anything except for being a puddle of cute Sora. Riku chuckled and licked his lips before leaning over his friend to repeat what he just did. He kissed Sora's face, licking and nipping as though it was some kind of ice cream. Sora did taste a lot like ice cream, Riku noted. Sweet and addictive.   
  
While he was happily savoring his Sora, the other boy's hands snaked around his waist and pushed him further down, so that their hips met.   
  
Riku felt himself respond immediately and growled slightly, for Sora was already one step ahead.   
  
He forced himself to calm the heat in his body and pulled away, shaking his head.   
  
"Not so fast, little one," he scolded although he had to smile as Sora opened his eyes, pleading to him like a puppy.   
  
"Don't use that look, Sora, it's not going to work...." Riku trailed off, distractedly gazing at Sora's adorable expression.   
  
"Please? Rikuuuu... I love you soooooo much!"   
  
Riku cursed himself for being so weak when it came to Sora's cuteness. But then again, no one could be immune to this. Sora was just *the* cutest being in the world.   
  
"One of these days I'm going to eat you up...." The silver haired muttered, as he shook his head.   
  
Sora wrinkled his nose and cocked his head to one side.   
  
As Riku saw that, he bit his lower lip and moaned, collapsing on top of the other boy. Sora just blinked in confusion.  
  
"Riku?"  
  
He poked his friend with his finger.   
  
"Riku? What's wrong?"  
  
Riku muttered something into Sora's shoulder and Sora had to giggle because it tickled him.  
  
"What?"  
  
Riku repeated himself, but Sora was still unable to understand it. Then Riku sighed and sat up again, still straddling the younger boy's hips.   
  
"I said," he crossed his arms over his chest, "You're too adorable to bear. If you keep this up I won't be able to hold back and then I'm going to eat you because you're so sweet!"   
  
Sora smiled and shrugged, crossing his arms behind his head. Riku smiled, too and sheepishly scratched his head.   
  
"Great, now I forgot what I wanted to do."  
  
Sora chuckled bucked his hips up, only slightly, but it was enough to make Riku squirm. The silver haired boy took a deep breath to control himself.   
  
"Ooookay, I think I now where we stopped." Riku had a devious grin on his face, equal to Sora's.   
  
"Though our lesson about seduction is not over yet," Riku mused, holding a serious expression all of the sudden. Sora looked a little worried but then Riku smiled again and shrugged.   
  
"We'll leave that for later. Now... let's take a break..."   
  
~~  
  
Two hours later, Selphie and Tidus were at Kairi's place, standing in front of her house.   
  
"So, do you have any idea how to undo the curse of this house?"   
  
Selphie scratched her head and bounced up and down while shaking her head.   
  
Tidus sighed. "So what do we do? Besides, didn't Riku and Sora move in there? Do they even know this house is cursed? Selphie?"  
  
The blond turned to see that his girlfriend was already running away, or rather, bouncing away.   
  
"Hey! Selphie," he cried, trying to follow her. "Where are you going?!" he shouted, finally catching up with her.  
  
Selphie was still bouncing, and she was bouncing towards her own house.   
  
"I'm going to get that book, of course! There must be something we can use!"  
  
And with that, Selphie dashed away, leaving Tidus stare at a cloud of dust.   
  
"Ookay.." He scratched his head. And what now? Tidus slumped his shoulders and made his way back to Kairi's house. Maybe Sora and Riku were in there so he could talk to them about this. They still didn't know anything about their plan to bring Kairi back. Would Riku even agree?  
  
Sighing, the blonde made his way to the door. He knocked, only to find that the door was slightly open. He shrugged and entered the house, standing in the big entrance hall.  
  
"Hello? Anyone here?"  
  
Somehow it was creepy, knowing that this house was cursed. Who knew what might happen. He just hoped that Sora and Riku were around, because he certainly didn't want to be here all alone. Knowing Selphie, she would probably get all hyped up and do thousands of other things while she was on her way to get the book.   
  
"Hello," he called again, but there was no answer. The door fell shut, he thought that it was a ghost, but it was just the light breeze coming from outside.   
  
Suddenly, he could hear strange noises and voices, muffled, but there. Tidus bit his lip and braced himself.   
  
"Okay. No point in being scared. This is just a house. Just a house." The blond decided to follow the noises. They could be from Sora and Riku, though it sounded very weird to him. Following the sounds, he ascended the stairs until he was in a corridor. He continued and heard the sounds getting louder.   
  
"Hello? Sora? Riku?"   
  
Still no response. Maybe because his voice was too quiet to be heard. He was too scared to yell properly.   
  
Suddenly, he heard a giggling sound and his eyes fell on a door. The sounds were coming from this room. He slowly approached the door, frowning nervously. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to knock on the door.  
  
The sounds stopped for a second, but then continued, ignoring his knock. Tidus frowned even more. He knocked again. Louder.   
  
Still no response.   
  
Tidus knocked three times, and he was still being ignored. Deciding that this was useless, Tidus simply twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open to see what was going on.  
  
"Holy sh..." The blond covered his mouth with his hands as he stared at the scene before him.  
  
Riku spun around, the weird bunny ears attached to his hair fluttered with the motion.  
  
Tidus thought he was going to faint.  
  
"Tidus!"   
  
Sora stared in shock at the blond, and then turned his eyes towards Riku, who was wearing a really unusual costume. In fact, it was a bunny costume. Sora had told Riku that he had some ideas of his own about the seduction lesson and begged Riku do grant his wish. Riku couldn't resist those eyes and agreed, only to find himself stripped to his boxers with a grinning Sora above him.   
  
Much to his surprise, however, Sora ran away to get something and came back, tossing a red bow-tie and a pair of extremely tight black jeans. And then there was the set of bunny ears and a fluffy tail, making Riku wonder where Sora had got these things. The jeans were Riku's, and the bow-tie was probably Sora's. Just where the hell did those other things come from?   
  
Well, and now here he was standing in his tight black jeans, a fluffy white tail on his backside, shirtless. The only thing he was wearing apart from the jeans was the red bow-tie, and the bunny ears.   
  
Sora could see Riku turn as red as his bow-tie, as he stared at Tidus in utter shock. Tidus had the same expression.  
  
Sora chuckled. And then began to laugh. He was almost in hysterics and rolling around on the bed with laughter as Riku's head snapped to him, glaring daggers.  
  
"STOP LAUGHING!" He shouted, pulling the ridiculous ears off. It was bad enough to dress up like this, but being seen by Tidus while wearing this, was humiliating.   
  
Tidus simply stared like he had seen a ghost. He didn't move, he didn't even bat an eyelash.  
  
And then, he fainted.   
  
Sora and Riku turned at the 'thump' and saw that Tidus was lying on the ground.   
  
"Look what you did," Riku sourly muttered as he turned back to look at Sora.   
  
Sora gave him his most innocent smile. "What? You're the one running around in that costume...."  
  
Riku growled, blushing furiously, and quickly went to get himself a T-shirt.   
  
Sora giggled and decided to help their poor friend. He climbed out of the huge bed and walked over to the blond, inspecting his face.   
  
"Is he dead?" A voice came from behind Sora, and the brunet turned to roll his eyes at Riku.  
  
"You're just grumpy now, I know you don't mean it," he said with a smile and turned back to Tidus.  
  
Riku uttered some curses under his breath and took off the tie to pull on a shirt.   
  
However, he forgot that the tail was still on his jeans, and Sora was too busy poking Tidus to notice. After a while, Tidus regained consciousness and opened his eyes, staring at a pair of blue eyes.   
  
"Sora?"   
  
He sat up, looking at his surroundings. It was Kairi's room, only full of posters to cover the pink walls. He suddenly remembered about the plan and shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
  
"Sora, Riku, you gotta move out of here!"  
  
The two boys exchanged a look and Sora raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Why's that," he asked, while Riku went to sit down on the bed. The last thing he wanted to do now was talking to Tidus. He would have loved to shrink to the size of a mosquito and hide somewhere, where no one could find him. He was so totally embarrassed.   
  
Tidus sighed. "This house is cursed. Selphie has cursed it when she was trying to curse Kairi. And besides," he paused, looking away to avoid Sora's eyes.   
  
"Besides, we want Kairi back. We're going to get her back... so you can't live in her house."  
  
Riku rolled his eyes and snorted.   
  
"Hey, come to think of it. Didn't we decide that she was dead? What's with all of you, wanting her back and that stuff? I mean, fine, I can understand Sora. She was his girlfriend, but what about you? All of you, you seemed to hate Kairi as much as I do when we last talked about this."  
  
Sora winced. Riku really hated Kairi.   
  
Tidus lowered his head. "I...I know, but... Wakka said he misses her. And Selphie misses her too! We want our old Kairi back. The girl you didn't hate. You were all friends once, remember? We want that back!"  
  
Riku looked away and let himself fall backwards on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Sora looked over to Riku and frowned. Tidus watched both, waiting for their response.   
  
Silence.  
  
Silence, that was broken by a sudden crash, followed by a squeal, downstairs. The three boys jumped up and exchanged a look before running down to see what happened.  
  
  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: There. Riku in bunny costume. That picture just entered my mind when I heard the song Irresistable by Jessica Simpson (I hate her). That song was playing outside from a car while I was writing heh. Wondering what that crash was? Well, me too! We'll probably find out when I update! Until then, please forgive me T-T 


	40. Evil Furniture and Lord Fluffy Tail

Author's Ranting: I think some aliens came and sucked out all my talent to write. It's impossible to have a writer's block for soo long -_- I swear there are some aliens who want me down *growls*   
  
but, aside from that.... I really appreciate all your ideas! Thank you sooo much for trying to help me! I will try to use them!  
  
And I want to thank MP-sama again, for she has send me an email with great ideas! She's already helped me once, so I'm really in her debt! ^^  
  
Thank you, MP-samaaaa *huggles* and everyone else who gave me ideas!  
  
so, now just have fun with this chapter, it's not as short as I feared it to be ^^  
  
oh, and about the costumes... I'm not a great artist, but I've done two pics of how I've imagined the costumes.   
  
http://www.geocities.com/lunaticmiko/RikuBunny.jpg  
  
http://www.geocities.com/lunaticmiko/sorakitty.jpg  
  
^-^V  
  
~~~  
  
Tidus, Riku and Sora came running down the stairs as they finally reached the entrance hall.   
  
"Selphie?!"   
  
The brunette girl was sitting on the floor, covering her head with her hands. Around her were shattered pieces of china.  
  
"What happened?" Tidus asked, running over to Selphie. Sora looked over to the corner where a vase had been standing. Selphie rubbed her face and shook her head like a wet puppy. She turned over to the corner and scowled in that adorable way of hers.   
  
"That vase just came flying towards me when I came in! It's eeevil!" she cried, trying to get the pieces out of her hair. Tidus came to aid her while Sora walked over to pick up some of the pieces.   
  
"They look normal to me," he said, shrugging once. Riku snorted and shook his head. Sora could see that he was highly upset about the whole Tidus-walking-in-on-bunny-costume thing. What was the great deal about it? So it was embarrassing, but did he have to be so grumpy about this? Sora sighed in annoyance, which cause Riku to glare at him.  
  
"Do you think it's the curse's doing?" The brunet boy asked after a while, looking at Tidus and Selphie because Riku decided to play offended and went to lean against the wall, with a dark scowl on his face.   
  
Selphie bounced up and nodded vigorously.  
  
"Totallyabsolutelydefinitely!"   
  
Sora and Tidus blinked. "Uh, what?"  
  
Selphie continued to bounce like a rubberball and squealed something about flying scissors and evil plants. Whatever she was saying, it seemed to be something bad. Tidus managed to pick up some key words out of Selphie's rambling and turned to Sora.   
  
"Curse. Evil. Furniture. Kill us," he said, eyebrows knitted together to a frown. Sora frowned, too and wrinkled his nose in thought. Evil furniture was going to kill them? Because of the curse? That sounded a little too incredible, even if Selphie did manage to get them into the most ridiculous situations.   
  
Selphie's voice still flew through the air, her squealing and raving was probably audible through the whole island. But then, suddenly, she stopped.   
  
Tidus and Sora immediately turned to her in surprise. What could stop the hyperactive Selphie to stop talking?  
  
The brunette girl's eyes were wide, and her mouth was dropped half open as though she wanted to say something. Her voice didn't work and she just stood there like a statue.   
  
"Selphie?" Tidus leaned forward to inspect the little girl. He reached out to lift her arm, and when he let go of her, the arm dropped right back to its former position. Tidus blinked and waved his hand before her eyes. She blinked but she didn't move.  
  
"Selphie? Hello?" He lightly knocked on her head, just like he was dealing with a broken TV.   
  
Sora walked over to her and stood right behind her, trying to see what she was staring at. When he was right behind her, looking into the same direction she was looking at, his eyes fell on Riku.   
  
"Why are you staring at Riku?" Sora asked in a bemused tone. At first Selphie didn't react, but then she suddenly lifted her arm and pointed at Riku. Riku's butt, to be exact. Sora narrowed his eyes, before he realized what the thing on Riku's pants was. And then he burst into laughter.   
  
Selphie was still motionless, almost lifeless, and Tidus frowned in utter confusion, for he had no idea what was going on. He went to stand behind Selphie, too, and tried to see what the other two were seeing.   
  
Riku's eyes snapped open, for they had been closed before, and he scowled at Sora.  
  
"What are you laughing at, again?" he sourly asked, wondering why Selphie was standing there like a doll, while Sora was behind her, laughing like a maniac. He didn't dare to look at Tidus, the humiliation before, had been enough for one day.   
  
"Riku..." Sora laughed, although he tried to keep it down. "Riku, your...you..." He continued to laugh and held his stomach.   
  
Riku glared and frowned in confusion. His expression was almost like Tidus's. Sora caught his breath and pointed at Riku, having a huge grin all over his face.  
  
"Riku. You forgot to take off that....tail!" And with that, the brunet boy collapsed on the floor, giggling and laughing even more than before.  
  
Just in that moment, Selphie seemed to return to her normal self again and she squealed loudly.  
  
"TAIL! A CUTE FLUFFY TAIL!!"   
  
Riku had no time to panic as he was suddenly pounced by a very rabid Selphie who was squealing into his ear.   
  
"Get off me! Sel--"   
  
Riku was rolled over so that he was lying on his stomach and Selphie sat on his legs to hold him down. The position reminded him of his and Sora's playtime, but usually it was him who pinned to others down like that. He began to wonder where Selphie had learned that from, and why the hell was she so strong? No one could pin Riku down like that.   
  
"Fluffy!" Selphie squealed, jabbing Riku's sides, causing him to groan. She giggled and began tugging on the tail, trying to get it off his pants. Sora's face turned a bright shade of red as he watched his two friends like this. If he didn't know that Riku was *his* boyfriend, this would have looked like he walked in on something he shouldn't see.   
  
"Cute fluffy taaaail, I'm gonna take you hooome and then we'll play play plaaaay," Selphie sang as she continued to tug on the thing.   
  
Riku growled and tried to struggle free, however, Selphie seemed a lot stronger than everyone assumed. She successfully kept him down, even though she had to fight with all her strength to keep the position.   
  
"Selphie! Stop it! Get off!" Riku yelled, flinging his hands towards his back as good as he could. Selphie caught them in time, just before they hit her face. Riku certainly aimed well, even though he couldn't really see her. He craned his neck to look at her and Selphie stopped moving for one second.   
  
They looked at each other, and Riku was almost sure he had won. That, however, was a mistake. Just when he was about to sigh in relief, the grip on his arms tightened and Selphie used all her strength to keep him down on the floor.  
  
"Tail tail tail! I want the tail!"   
  
Selphie noticed that her hands were occupied, and decided to take the tail with her teeth.   
  
Riku cried out in frustration and Tidus stared in horror at this really obscene looking picture. Selphie was sitting on Riku while he was on his stomach, and she was pulling on the tail with her teeth, while Riku growled. It was definitely too much for Tidus, and his brain told him to do what's the best for him.  
  
'Thump'  
  
Selphie stopped in mid action, Riku stopped growling, and Sora's eyes, which had been glued to the pair on the floor, turned to look at the person beside him. However, there was no more person beside him. Instead, a body was lying on the floor.   
  
Tidus had fainted.   
  
Again.   
  
"Gighuff!" Selphie squealed, white fluffy tail in her mouth. She jumped up, successfully tearing the tail off Riku's pants and rushed to kneel beside the boy.   
  
"Gighuff," she called again, still holding the tail among her teeth. The blond stirred, but his eyes remained closed, just as though he didn't want to wake up.   
  
Meanwhile, Riku stood up and brushed himself off, uttering a string of curses under his breath. Sora looked over to him in a mixture of sympathy and amusement, and a small part of him wished that he could have been the one to pull the tail off with his teeth.   
  
'Note to self: make Riku dress up again and have a little play...'   
  
Sora grinned, but his plan-makings were interrupted by a huge shadow over him.  
  
"Huh?" He turned around and looked up, only to see that a wooden table was levitating over him.  
  
"HUH?!"   
  
The table suddenly dropped, and Sora screamed while he rolled away. Sounds of shattering were audible and Riku stared in disbelief. Sora was lying on the floor, a little away from the broken table. He frowned and rubbed the back of his head, wondering what just happened.   
  
"Did this table just fly around and drop on you?" Riku asked in disbelief.   
  
Sora looked up at his friend and shrugged, realising that this curse might be more dangerous than they thought.  
  
Selphie had put the tail away into her pocket, and Tidus opened his eyes at the sound of crashing wood. He sat up again, purposefully not looking at Riku or Sora, since it was embarrassing for him to faint twice a day. Selphie helped him up and the kids gathered to stand together at the door. Close to the exit.  
  
"I think we should leave here for a while," Selphie suggested, already pulling Tidus out of the house. Riku and Sora followed, until the younger boy stopped.   
  
"Wait. I think I hit my head or something. I'll just go to the bathroom and get some things out of the aid-kit," Sora called, before he vanished back into the house. Riku frowned.   
  
"Is it okay to go back in? This house seems a lot worse than yesterday. I mean, I got stuck in that closet, that was harmless. But today things start attacking us...."  
  
Riku stopped as he noticed that Selphie and Tidus were staring at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
Tidus shook his head and looked away, but Selphie raised her eyebrows. "Lord Fluffy Tail got stuck in a closet?"   
  
Riku's eyebrow twitched. "Lord...Fluffy...Tail?"  
  
Selphie nodded, her face was serious. Tidus just continued to stare at something on the ground, as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. He knew that Riku would eventually explode and then they would all have to feel his wrath.   
  
"Ooh! I forgot to bring the book! I guess we'll just go and get it now! We'll be back in a few minutes! You stay here and wait for Sora, Lord Fluffy Tail!" Selphie chirped, before she dashed of with Tidus. She was more than aware of Riku's rising urge to kill.   
  
Riku clenched his teeth as he watched them disappear. "Lord...Fluffy...Tail?"  
  
~  
  
Sora was on his way to the bathroom as he felt some fear coming up in him. He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts and continued down the hallway to go to the bathroom. It was just a house. Just a cursed house.   
  
Sora shuddered. Who knew what would happen next. But Sora was brave, he would stand against anything. If something attacked him, he would just fight back, there was nothing to fear. Sora nodded to himself, although he broke into a sprint to reach his destination as fast as possible. Once there, Sora pushed the door open, only to have it slam shut, right into his face.   
  
The boy frowned in annoyance and pushed it open again. And it flew shut again.   
  
"Come on, you stupid door, let me in," he whined, knocking politely. Maybe the house would be nice if he was nice, too.   
  
Stupid idea.  
  
Just as he was about to knock again, the door went open, and a bottle of shampoo came flying towards him, hitting his face.   
  
Sora groaned and rubbed his nose. Maybe he should get something for a broken nose. He entered the bathroom and opened the drawer with the aid-kit in it. When he wanted to take it out, the drawer shut itself and Sora's fingers were crushed.   
  
"SHIT!" he cried in pain, kicking the drawer with his foot. However, the drawer opened in that moment, and his foot met the metal surface of the latch.   
  
This time, he didn't cry out, but merely took the chance to quickly take the aid-kit and run out of the room as fast as he could with a bruised foot.   
  
He stumbled down the stairs, nearly falling over as he stepped on something lying on the stairs. It was a small ball. Where it had come from, was a riddle, but Sora was certain that this house was going to maim him if he didn't leave soon. Finally, he came back to the entrance hall where the pieces of china and wood were lying on the floor. He didn't care if he stepped on anything because all he wanted, was to get out of this crazy place.   
  
He didn't turn back as he heard something coming towards him with high speed, he just ran as fast as he could, and eventually fell through the door, right into Riku's arms. Well, almost.   
  
Riku's arms were crossed and Sora flew right against his chest. The silver haired boy was caught off guard and stumbled backwards, until both fell to the ground.   
  
"Thanks a lot," Riku muttered, rubbing his sore butt. As his eyes met the other boy, his grumpy mood disappeared and was replaced by concern. His eyes wandered over the younger boy's body and he frowned in worry.   
  
"What the hell happened to you? You're gone for two minutes and you look like someone beat the heck out of you," the older boy stated.   
  
Sora didn't respond and just hung his head. Riku smirked and patted his boyfriend's spiky hair.  
  
"In fact, you look like we've just had a sparring round. What was the score? Something like....10 000:0?"  
  
At that comment, Sora's head snapped up and he pouted, trying to glare at Riku.   
  
"The score's 10 000:5!"   
  
Riku chuckled and nodded, as if to say 'yeah right, dream on'.  
  
Sora snorted and finally decided to get off his boyfriend, even if the other boy's body was really comfortable. Maybe he should fall through a door more often. Sora scratched his head and looked around. Selphie and Tidus were gone.   
  
"Where are the others?" he asked, wincing in pain as his crushed fingers brushed his hair. Riku frowned and got up, taking the younger boy's hand into his own.   
  
"They left. Selphie forgot to take the book with her." He rolled his eyes. "She said she'll be back in a few minutes, which means that she probably isn't back until midnight. Tidus is with her, maybe he can get the book."  
  
Sora nodded, distractedly looking at the house as Riku held his wrist.   
  
"You think we can get this back to normal?" he asked in a small voice, still looking at the building. Riku ignored his question and inspected the fingers. 'Looks like something crushed the precious things,' he thought to himself, as he used the other hand to brush over the delicate fingers.   
  
Sora winced again and turned his head back to Riku.  
  
"Does it hurt that much?" Riku asked. Sora shrugged once, though Riku could see that it really did hurt. The usually slender hands were swollen and glowing red, just looking at it was more than enough to feel the pain.  
  
Sora sighed and attempted to free himself from Riku's grip, but then a cool wetness engulfed his burning index finger. He looked back at Riku, eyes wide in surprise and relief as he saw his boyfriend sucking gingerly. Riku's tongue was so cool and comforting as it stroked over the heated skin. After a short massage, he released the finger and began to suckle on the next one. Sora closed his eyes and smiled, relief and comfort washing over him.  
  
One of Riku's hands continued to hold Sora's wrist while the other one made its way to the boy's neck, pulling him down. Together, the boys sank down to sit on the front stairs. Riku pulled Sora onto his lap and kissed his love's fingertips before sucking on each of his fingers again. Sora's head dropped sideways onto Riku's shoulder and he began to purr, making those sounds Riku loved more than anything.   
  
For once, Riku was actually glad that Selphie could never do what someone told her to do. For once, he was glad that the girl would only return at night, after she had done a hundred other things before she got the book about black magic.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Squee! Cute ending, don'tcha think? Lord Fluffy Tail... it's originally a nickname for Sesshoumaru from Inuyasha that I read somewhere. I just thought it would fit Riku, too, now that he was wearing that costume hehe...   
  
Evil evil house, what will happen next? Will Selphie be able to undo the curse? Will Tidus finally stop fainting all the time?? And where's Wakka? Whoops, forgot him in this chapter *sweatdrop* ...He'll be in the next one, I promise! Some ppl asked me how much chapters there are going to be... well, I don't know! I just write as long as people want to read, I guess.... So it can vary between 2 to 50+ chapters XD  
  
Heh, anywayz... Review and stay tuned! 


	41. Nice ways to spend time

Author's Ranting: Tadaaa! Already a new chapter! Seems like the evil aliens didn't steal aaaallll of my motivation.  
  
anyway, this chapter contains some really juicy lime stuff, so be warned! I don't know if it's still PG-13 but I guess it is since I can't count it as NC-17 or R... oh well, you won't get mentally disturbed by this, really.   
  
The song which inspired the lime juice was "Oops! Oh My" by Tweet...   
  
oh and this chapter doesn't have much plot I think... I'll save that for the next one   
  
Have fun!  
  
~~~  
  
Wakka was sitting on a rock, throwing his Blitzball against a wall of rock. There had been no sign of Tidus and Selphie, and Sora and Riku weren't around either. The redhead sighed. Tidus and Selphie were a couple, it was only natural for them to spend time together, but Wakka couldn't shake off the feeling of being forgotten. Tidus had been his best friend for so long, and now he was always following Selphie around like a lost puppy.   
  
Of course, he didn't want their relationship to end, they both seemed content with what they had. If Wakka had someone, too, then everything would be all right. This was the reason he wanted Kairi back. He still hadn't lost hope in her, even if she had attacked him, and even if she had seemed like a total psycho last time they met each other. People grew up after a while, and maybe Kairi had gotten over her rage. Wakka was more than willing to do anything to help her.   
  
He sighed again. Since when did he think so much? Ever since their lives started to involve girls, in *that* way, Wakka's and Tidus's lives got more and more complicated. He missed the times when they both just played Blitzball all day long without a care in the world.   
  
"Hey Wakka!"  
  
Wakka turned his head to the side, forgetting that he had just thrown the ball against the wall. As his eyes met his best friend, he smiled.  
  
"Hey, Tidus!" he called, before the ball bounced off the wall to hit him flat on the cheek.   
  
Tidus winced as he saw this and chuckled slightly, shaking his head in sympathy.   
  
"Watch the ball, Wakka! I guess you need more training, huh?"  
  
Tidus smiled and ran over to his friend, sitting down beside him. Wakka rubbed his cheek and took the ball into his hand, pretending to throw it at the other boy. Tidus blocked and laughed, until he sighed and slumped his shoulders forward in exhaustion.   
  
"What's wrong, ya?" Wakka asked, as he noticed his friend's antics.  
  
Tidus shook his head and smiled at him. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just tired. Selphie can be so tiring, especially when she's got a new toy....." The blonde trailed off and remembered the incident with Riku's tail. Selphie had totally forgotten about the book, and Tidus couldn't find it, since Selphie wouldn't listen to him at all or tell him where she hid it. Now she was playing with the tail, and Tidus had to escape before she had some new crazy ideas. He shuddered at the memory of the tail incident, and Wakka looked at him with a puzzled expression.   
  
Tidus waved him off. "You don't want to know it, believe me."  
  
Wakka shrugged. A brief silence followed, and the boys just sat there, listening to the sound of the small waterfall nearby. It was a comforting silence. Tidus needed the silence from Selphie's raving and the other occurrences in Kairi's house, and Wakka needed silence from his own thoughts. Being with Tidus gave him back the feeling he had when they were kids.   
  
"Girls can be *so* exhausting...." Tidus suddenly muttered, yawning a bit.   
  
Wakka nodded and sighed. He picked up the ball to throw it against the wall again. While it bounced off and he caught it to repeat the motion, he began to talk.   
  
"When are we going to get Kairi? Do you think she's okay, ya? I also hope that she's not too angry with us, I mean, we've treated her really bad, ya..."  
  
Tidus nodded, although he wasn't too interested in Kairi. He did feel guilty, but actually, he hadn't been at fault at all. It was all a thing between Sora, Riku and Kairi, while Selphie and Wakka got mixed up in it. But Tidus himself, hadn't done anything to upset Kairi.   
  
"When we find her, someone has to talk to her and suggest a truce," Wakka went on. "I think Sora and Riku aren't the best choice. Maybe Selphie could talk to her, but there is a chance that Selphie will only make it worse... That leaves us, Tidus."  
  
Tidus jerked at the recognition of his name and turned to Wakka, who was not looking at him, but at the ball that came bouncing off the wall.   
  
"What do you mean?" The younger boy asked.  
  
Wakka remained silent for a while and then caught his ball to look at Tidus.   
  
"I thought that you could talk to her when she comes back. You know, make her feel wanted again, and tell her that we all want her as our friend." Wakka paused, looking a little helpless.   
  
Tidus blinked as he heard the request. He? Talking to Kairi?   
  
"Why me?" he asked. "Why not you?"  
  
Wakka shook his head. "No no no! I can't. I can't. I will just say something stupid to upset her, ya."  
  
Tidus could see that Wakka was uneasy about this, and then he remembered that he used to have a crush on Kairi. Certainly, he would be nervous to talk to her, especially after Kairi attacked him like last time.   
  
"Okay. I'll do it. I guess."   
  
Tidus nodded once, and Wakka smiled gratefully. "Thanks man! You're the best friend, ever!" He hugged his friend, only shortly but cordially, just like buddies hugged each other. However, Tidus felt his cheeks get warm by this gesture, and hoped that it wouldn't show. Fainting twice a day was enough, the last thing he needed, was to blush in front of Wakka, just because they hugged.   
  
~~  
  
It was afternoon, and Sora swayed his head absently from side to side as he sat on Riku's lap. They were still in front of the house. Neither dared to go in again. One of Riku's hands rested on his stomach while the other one played over his arm and shoulder, tickling his love.   
  
"You smell like strawberries," Riku murmured as he nuzzled the other boy's neck. "Do you still use that shampoo?"  
  
Sora chuckled and shrugged. Riku smiled and lifted his head to lean his face into the wonderful brown hair. Despite the spiky haircut, Sora's hair was so soft and smelled so sweet. It reminded Riku of how he had washed the hair, and he smiled at the memory. Maybe he could do it more often.  
  
"Could I wash your hair again?"   
  
Sora cocked his head to one side, and then turned around to face Riku, all the while straddling his boyfriend's lap.   
  
"Why are you so obsessed with my hair? Don't tell me that's the only reason you love me!"  
  
Sora grinned, although he tried to be offended. Riku smirked and pulled Sora close, crushing their bodies together.   
  
"You start to talk like an old wife, Sora," he scoffed, though his voice was low and seductive. He began to let his hands wander under Sora's shirt, tracing his fingers over the soft skin, loving the feel of Sora's delicate body.   
  
"Wait," Sora whispered, pulling away. He had this mischievous smile on his face, and Riku almost started to worry.   
  
"I've got an idea..."  
  
~~  
  
A bit later, Sora and Riku were standing on the Paopu Island. There was a CD-player on the ground and Sora put in some batteries while Riku watched in confusion.   
  
"I want you to dance," Sora smugly declared as he sat down on the grass. Riku raised one eyebrow and smirked.   
  
"What kind of dance?" he asked, voice dripping with tease.   
  
Sora merely grinned and pushed the play button, starting to play a rather unique song. Listening to it for a few moments, Riku decided that Sora was trying to turn him on, for the song certainly gave off the right feeling.   
  
Smirking even more, Riku began to move to the music, slowly and seductive, using his hands to run over his own body. If Sora wanted to play, Riku could play, too.   
  
He slowly lifted his shirt, torturing and pleasing Sora at the same time. He let his fingers wander over his own heated skin as he lifted his shirt higher and higher.  
  
Sora shuddered at the show before him and groaned in anticipation. Riku was such a tease.   
  
Finally, the silver hair vanished behind the shirt, and Riku pulled the fabric over his head, fully revealing his sweaty chest. Sora hunched forward, inhaling sharply. Riku's eyes were half-lidded, as though he was really enjoying himself, and then threw his shirt away in a lazy motion. Sora watched his flushed face, he could tell that Riku was as aroused as him, and he would have grinned at this, but he was way too caught up in Riku's lazy swaying motions as he danced to the music.   
  
Slowly, Riku's hands wandered down over his body, stopping at the button of his jeans. His very tight jeans. Sora's eyes were glued to them as he felt his own pants get tighter. Teasingly, the fingers brushed over the button, not quite reaching it to unbutton the jeans. Sora's breathing became heavier as did Riku's, and both seemed to flow into the trance of the song.  
  
The fingers rubbed the button in a sensual motion, making it look so dirty at one point, especially as Riku closed his eyes and let his head fall backwards, sensually moving to the music. Then, finally, the other hand came to help, and he undid the first button, revealing the navy blue fabric of his boxershorts. Sora silently cursed that Riku wore underwear.   
  
The next buttons were undone in the same slow, torturing motion, making Sora even more desperate, though he didn't dare to move. Riku's eyes were still closed and quiet moans escaped the parted lips, sounding as though he tried to hold them back. The music was still on, the intoxicating rhythm of the song was making the boys' head spin.   
  
As the last button was opened, Riku's hands roamed over his upper legs, before pulling the tight jeans down to his knees, revealing his boxers. He let go of his pants, and they dropped to his feet. He stepped out of them, and Sora gulped, knowing that he would have to pounce Riku now or he would die from the pressure.   
  
The silver haired boy seemed to be totally oblivious to his friend's desperation, and took a deep breath while one hand wiped over his forehead, brushing away the strands of hair, moaning again in that choked and restrained manner.   
  
That did it. Sora bit his lip and closed his eyes briefly, before he opened them and right out jumped Riku like a hungry cat.   
  
Riku fell backwards onto the grass, having an almost glazed look in his deep aqua eyes. Sora looked back at him, hungry and hot, and then started to lick his collarbone, tasting the sweat on his hot skin.  
  
The sun had melted into a pool of red, different shades of orange colored the sky, making it seem like an ocean of flames burning above the boys.   
  
Riku's hands found their way under Sora's shirt and it seemed as though they moved on their own as their lips met, moving against each other in a fierce motion. The heat increased as they kissed, mouths working, tongues playing, making their movements more and more uncontrolled. Fingertips glided over soft skin, tickling and teasing, mouths and bodies pressed together, as though they tried to fuse. Even more heat came up as the burning sea of flames above them changed its color into deep red, passionate red.   
  
They rolled over, and Sora was on his back, hungrily kissing Riku. Their hands roamed over each other's bodies and Sora felt his shirt soaking from his sweat. His forehead was damp, just as his hair, but Riku's mouth left him briefly to kiss the sweat away. His hands moved under his shirt, making Sora gasp in ecstasy. Distracted, the brunet didn't notice as Riku pulled on his shirt, and only realized what was happening when it was halfway over his head. There went the shirt, gracefully landing on Riku's.   
  
There was no time for Riku to admire Sora's milky skin for he kissed it immediately, drawn to it like a moth to the light. Sora went limp under Riku's ministrations and let his mind drift while the pleasuring torture continued. Tongue played over his shoulder as Riku draped his mouth towards the neck, lapping at it while his hands massaged Sora's sides. The night broke in as the boys continued their little play and there they drifted into their own little world where only the pleasure of their love existed.  
  
~~~  
  
Hours later, when the moon had already appeared to lighten the dark sky, the boys lay in each other's arms, complete silence covering them.   
  
The moment of heat had been gone long ago, and they only lay together without movement or talk. It wasn't hard to see that both were deep in thought, but neither wanted to voice their thoughts.  
  
"Let's go home now," Sora suddenly murmured, breaking the silence. He untangled himself from Riku, and quickly got up, surprising his friend a little, before putting on his shirt, and beginning to walk. His head was bowed, as though he felt guilty for something, or maybe he was still just thinking, Riku didn't know. The silver haired boy frowned and quickly gathered his clothes, hurrying after Sora.  
  
As they walked, Sora didn't say anything, but both knew that they were heading for Sora's house.  
  
Riku thought he had done something wrong, and he was starting to get upset about Sora's behavior. Why wouldn't he just tell him what bothered him? He thought they could trust each other. On the other hand, Riku had things to figure out himself, and he didn't know whether Sora would understand. The everlasting jealousy he felt when Kairi's name was mentioned, the obsession, the urge to claim Sora as his own, those were things he had to think about.  
  
Riku unconsciously scowled as he thought.  
  
Sora saw the scowl on Riku's face and misinterpreted it as a sign of anger towards him. He dipped his head even lower, puzzling over his problems. The moments they had shared at sunset had been like an escape, a short time of solace. Now, however, he almost felt as though he was getting lost in his own head. Not only because of Kairi, although that was certainly the main reason, but also because of himself and his relationship to Riku.   
  
Another worry, of course, was Selphie. They knew that Selphie wouldn't come back with the book, and that was the reason they didn't even wait for her. Would the hyperactive girl ever find a way to end the insanity around Kairi's house?   
  
Sora couldn't stop thinking about these things, and he longed for another moment of solace.   
  
They stopped as they reached Sora's house. It had been only days ago, when the two of them had been sharing the bed here. Sora opened the door and entered his house, feeling slightly relieved as he heard Riku following him. At one point, Sora had almost feared that Riku would turn away because of their constant silence.   
  
Walking in, Sora made his way to the couch, but Riku took him gently by the hand and turned him around to look at him.  
  
"You know you can tell me everything, right?"   
  
Sora gazed deep into Riku's eyes, and Riku looked right back. Then, Sora tried to look away, but he couldn't. He looked back at him, trying to stay steady. He opened his mouth, letting Riku's hope rise.   
  
"I know," he simply answered.   
  
Riku felt as though he had been punched in the gut. Was that all? But Sora opened his mouth again, maybe this time he would begin to talk.  
  
"And you can tell me everything, too," the brunet said, hitting the nail right on the head. He was right. Why should Sora be the only one who had to talk about his thoughts? Riku was thinking, too, and he should tell Sora about it, too.   
  
Without saying any more, Sora hugged Riku, comforting his boyfriend, and seeking comfort for himself at the same time.  
  
Riku hesitated to let this pass, but decided that Sora would just have to work out his problems on his own, if that was what he wanted to do. They embraced each other for a while, before Riku pulled away to lead them to the bedroom.  
  
Together, they lay down on the small single bed, Sora lying safely in Riku's arms.   
  
"Thanks for putting up with me...." Sora sighed, drawing a little closer to Riku to prevent them to fall off the bed. After a few nights on the fourposter, Sora's bed seemed so small.  
  
"Ditto," Riku answered, nuzzling into the soft hair.   
  
Sora smiled and he relaxed, purring quietly in content. Riku felt a weight lift from his heart as he heard that sound again, knowing that Sora was all right. Everything was all right for now, even if there was still this one thing that prevented him from being absolutely happy.  
  
"I guess you still want her back, huh?"   
  
Sora felt Riku shift, loosening the arms around the younger boy. Sora looked up with a slightly guilty expression on his face. He was looking up at Riku from beneath his eyelashes, making him incredibly adorable. Riku couldn't hold back his smile as he saw this, even though the topic was something that crushed his heart.   
  
"Why are you smiling?" Sora asked in bewilderment. He expected Riku to be angry, or hurt, but not to smile. Sora wrinkled his nose in confusion.  
  
The silver haired boy chuckled at the sweet expression, and shook his head, motioning Sora to drop the subject, which the latter one eventually did. The day had been exhausting enough. They needed rest, even if the bed was slightly uncomfortable.  
  
"Night, sweetheart," Riku whispered as he saw Sora's eyes drop shut.   
  
A few moments passed until sky blue eyes opened again to glare at Riku.   
  
"Don't call me sweetheart. Sounds like I'm a girl."   
  
Riku didn't respond, for his eyes were already closed. However, he wasn't asleep. He couldn't sleep, now that the anxiety was practically eating him. Sora's presence had soothed the heartache, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling of anxiety. What would happen if Kairi came back? He couldn't help feeling the competition coming up, the feeling of having to defend his right to be with Sora. Kairi couldn't possibly destroy their relationship, could she? They loved each other, there was nothing to fear, right? Riku had a bad feeling about this.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Phew. That was...exhausting. I like the whole Riku striptease scene lol... Hmmm and isn't Tidus just cute? It itches me to add even more Tidus+Wakka heh heh... oh well, we'll see. That's all for now. Stay tuned for more! 


	42. Turtles, Showers and Sorastyle?

Author's Ranting: Yay! A new chapter! Sorry to keep you waiting but so many things happened. Ok, so not many things but a reaally important thing...really bad thingy _ ...but I got to write this anyway. Hope you're happy.   
  
~~~  
  
The next day, Selphie was up as soon as the sun rose. The bunny tail had been fun for a whole lot of five minutes, but after that she found something new to bring her fun.  
  
Two baby turtles.  
  
"I think I should call them Riku and Sora, what do you think?" she asked her teddy bear, since no one else was around. Deciding that the teddy bear had nodded in agreement, the girl squealed in delight and picked up the two turtles.  
  
"Okies, you are Riku," she said to the slightly larger one, and she could have sworn that 'Riku' gave her that famous Riku-frown.  
  
"And you're cute little So~ra," Selphie said to the other, kissing it on the head. 'Sora' was slightly smaller and more agile than 'Riku' although both turtles were pretty slow. Selphie giggled as she watched them run around on her bed, but then returned to her actual task. Yes, she had a mission, the mission to undo the curse of the evil furniture.   
  
She jumped down from her bed and crawled under it to pull out the book.   
  
"Let's seee...." She browsed through the pages, quickly looking for some kind of spell. However, all she could find were zillions of spells to destroy, curse, or hurt.   
  
"Maybe heaven is trying to give me a sign," the brunette mused, cocking her head to one side. She looked at her turtles who were currently nudging each other with their heads. A big smile spread over her face and she snickered, reaching for her camera.   
  
"I think I should start a new photo album full of 'Riku and Sora' heh heh..."   
  
Taking a few shots of her new found couple, Selphie realized that she didn't even know what gender they were.  
  
"Maybe they're both boys! Or better, one's male and the other is female so they can have babies!"  
  
Selphie was practically overjoyed by this thought and started bouncing happily. She almost forgot about her mission.  
  
"Ah! The curse!" Almost. She reminded herself of the task and went back to the book, letting the turtles play on the bed.  
  
While she checked the pages for any hint to help the situation, her mind kept jumping from topic to topic.  
  
'My turtles are so cute! Just like squirrels! Tee-hee...Squirrels have such a furry tail just like Riku! Ah, he's LordFluffyTail! That's so perfect! I won't get confused with the names now! I gotta tell him that he's got a turtle twin! Twin...twin..the evil twin is taking over muahaha.. ehh.. Oh yeah! The book, the book...' She kept looking through the book, unable to find anything useful. 'I want ice-cream...mmhhh Twinnie ice-cream is soo good. And pearls. Pearls are pretty!'  
  
And still, the only things she found in the book were even more curses. Maybe heaven *was* giving her a sign. Maybe Kairi just shouldn't come back?  
  
~~  
  
The rays of sunlight lit the room where Sora and Riku were sleeping. The spiky haired boy woke immediately, cursing the sunlight. It was very unlike him to do so, but his current position was too cozy to get up. He turned his head to glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand.  
  
6:00 a.m. Too early to get up. Smiling in relief, Sora snuggled back into the blankets and, of course, the warm body beside him. Riku was still sleeping like a baby, having that unusual innocent and peaceful expression on his face. He almost looked like a little boy when he slept. Sora closed his eyes and let his mind drift into a state of half-sleep. However, as the sunlight hit his face, Sora frowned. It was entirely too light to keep sleeping. The curtains weren't closed, they had forgot to do that and Sora idly wondered how Riku had managed to fall asleep that night.   
  
Usually, Riku wanted complete and utter darkness when he slept, and if he didn't get it he would complain all night long just like the stubborn boy he sometimes was.   
  
Sora sighed, frowning slightly at the memory of the night before. Riku had seemed worried. Sora knew that he didn't like the idea of sharing Sora, but it wasn't like Kairi was going to be his girlfriend again. He simply wanted to be friends with her, not more. But Riku seemed to feel intimidated by it, he seemed to think that Kairi would be an intruder...  
  
Sora sighed again. Riku was so obsessive sometimes, couldn't he see that he was only hurting himself with this?  
  
Noting that his thoughts had made him forget about the annoying sunlight, Sora shook his head and turned to look at Riku again.   
  
He had to smile and he felt a warm feeling inside. Obsessive or not, Riku was the purest angel when he slept. His usually hard features became soft and the lips that always formed a smirk were now relaxed, and slightly parted. His eyebrows weren't drawn to a frown, he seemed to be content.   
  
Laying back, Sora covered his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to go back to sleep. Of course he could have got up and closed the curtains, but right now he didn't want to move out of the warm and cozy bed. Finally, peace. It was dark and Sora's breathing got slower and relaxed.   
  
The idyll, however, only lasted for a minute or so, because then Sora's arm began to cramp. The position was uncomfortable now with his arm over his eyes.   
  
Annoyed, the brunet removed his arm and decided to take one last try. He glared at the sun as if to say 'you just wait' and then decided to dive into the blankets, burying himself as much as possible where no sunlight could reach him. Peace.   
  
Riku's eyes fluttered open the moment he heard some rustling beside him. He blinked a few times and as his vision finally cleared, he was staring at the ceiling. Something was wrong. Something was missing.   
  
He continued to stare at the ceiling, wondering what was causing that emptiness he was feeling.   
  
His blanket was missing. Not that it was cold, but wondered where it had gone. He was sure that he had pulled the covers over him and Sora as the night became cold. Despite the sunny weather at day, the nights on Destiny Islands were cold, especially when all they were sleeping in were their boxer shorts.   
  
But that wasn't all. Not only that his blanket was missing, but also, there was no Sora against his chest, warming him. Riku frowned and turned his head to the side were Sora should be lying. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, not quite sure if he was dreaming, and blinked again at a heap of blankets lying next to him.   
  
"Um...Sora?" he tentatively asked, poking the blankets.   
  
A strangled noise came as reply and Riku smirked. Grinning, he grabbed the covers and pulled them up, revealing a curled up Sora who was covering his eyes.   
  
"Ah! No! Not the light! Ah!" Sora yelled in mock pain. Riku laughed and shook his head.   
  
"What happened to you? Turned into a vampire?"  
  
Sora grumbled something and withdrew his hands. Looking up at Riku, he pouted. He glanced at the blanket, trying to send Riku a message through telepathy.   
  
'Get the damn blanket back here.'  
  
It took a while for Riku to catch the look. "Oh." He nodded at the request and shrugged, throwing the blankets over his love. He heard Sora groan and smiled.   
  
"It's still early," he said as he checked the alarm clock. "And since we're up already, we can have some fun, right?"  
  
Sora mumbled something unintelligible, moving beneath the covers. Riku chuckled and licked his lips, before he took his chance to scoot under the blankets with Sora, surprising the younger boy as he was suddenly beside him.  
  
He smiled and kissed Sora's closed eyes, letting his hands play with the waistband of Sora's boxers. The younger boy jolted slightly, although he didn't respond in any way. Riku kissed his lips, wondering why Sora was being so submissive. He wasn't even moving anymore by the time Riku tried to kiss him again. He drew back, and noticed that Sora was...sleeping.   
  
"Sleeping, huh?" Riku had a mischievous smirk on his lips as his hands moved up to Sora's sides. "Well then, Sleeping Beauty..."  
  
Sora shrieked in protest as he felt Riku jab his sides. Riku laughed in amusement, but was stopped by a kicking Sora. Riku grinned and tickled Sora even more, only to receive a light punch, and eventually their play grew into a little fight between the covers. Sora squealed and Riku laughed, tangling in the blankets until they both became too exhausted to go on.  
  
Sora threw the blankets off the bed, brushing his damp hair out of his face. Riku wiped his forehead and breathed heavily in and out.   
  
"That's just great, you know," Sora muttered, pouting at Riku although it was meant to be a scowl. Riku raised an eyebrow in question.   
  
"What's great?"  
  
Sora pouted even more and sat up, crossing his arms. He leaned backwards, a little too far, and fell off the bed while doing so. Riku watched his love's antics and broke into a fit of laughter, only to receive a pout that was meant to be a glare.   
  
"I mean," Sora began, climbing back into bed, "I wanted to sleep because it was still so early, and now look at us. We're all sweaty, I can't sleep like that... I need to take a shower."  
  
The brunet wrinkled his nose and tightened his crossed arms to emphasize his statement.   
  
Riku practically jumped him at that, pushing him down to the bed again, leaning down to his ear.   
  
"I'd love to shower...how about we go into the bathroom and I'll give you your *shower*...." he whispered, flicking out his tongue to lick at the earlobe. Sora shuddered and felt his knees turn to jelly. If he had been standing, he would have sunken to the ground like he were boneless.   
  
"Okay," Sora breathed, trying to pull himself together. He pushed Riku off and smiled brightly.   
  
"Race ya to the bathroom!" And with that, he was off to the next room, impatiently waiting for his *shower*.  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile Wakka and Tidus had started their own mission. They hadn't slept at all and were working on their plan to get Kairi back. Now they were at the beach, getting into the boat.   
  
"We'll go and look for Kairi, she must be still on that island, ya?" Wakka seemed nervous but also very determined.   
  
Tidus nodded and they began to row until Tidus's face screwed up into a frown.  
  
"Hey Wakka. What are we supposed to tell her? Like, 'Long time no see, sorry for everything, we want you back?' or what?"  
  
Wakka stopped rowing, causing the boat to sway slightly off the course and sat in thought.  
  
"I don't know, ya. Maybe we should start with 'We come in peace' and then...you talk to her. Think of something, ya."  
  
Tidus could have sworn he heard some glee in Wakka's voice, but he couldn't be sure. Great, now Tidus had to think of a way to apologize for things he hadn't done. He had to be the one to deal with the psychotic fury that once beat Wakka to a bloody pulp. Tidus gulped. Time changed people, right? Maybe Kairi had really grown up a bit, so there was nothing to fear.   
  
Wakka shrugged and continued to row, bringing the boat back on the way. They rowed for another 15 minutes until they arrived at the island.   
  
"I think we should call it Kairi Island," Tidus muttered, still not happy about the fact that he had to be the one talking.  
  
Wakka ignored the comment, or didn't hear it, and they walked around on the beach, looking for a trace of Kairi. The beach wasn't big, there was only a sandbank, the rest of the island was a forest full of different kinds of trees. Wakka looked around and eventually found something that looked like a hut.   
  
"I think that's Kairi's hut, ya!"   
  
Tidus looked into the direction Wakka was pointing at and gave Wakka a look.  
  
"You call that a hut?" He shook his head and walked towards the bundle of logs tied up to form a tent, big enough for a doll, but not a human. In that hut, however, Tidus found a piece of paper where something was scribbled on, and it was definitely Kairi's handwriting.  
  
"I think I found something," he called Wakka over and they looked at the paper.   
  
-To do List: Kill Sora. Kill Riku. No scratch that. Kill Sora. Make Riku love me. Slap Selphie. Go find a way to get back-  
  
The boys shuddered in fear as they saw this. They exchanged a look, frowning at each other, totally unaware of the person standing behind them, until a cough interrupted them.  
  
Both turned around in surprise and stared wide eyes.   
  
"Hello, boys," Kairi greeted them with a friendly smile.  
  
"He-he-hello, Kairi..." Wakka stuttered, elbowing Tidus to do his work. Tidus looked at Wakka, a pleading look in his eyes, but Wakka gestured him to talk to her.  
  
Kairi watched them with a smile, crossing her hands behind her back.   
  
Tidus sighed and scratched his head.   
  
"Hey, Kairi. Look, um..." he paused, thinking of something to say. He thought of what Wakka said.  
  
"Um, we come in peace."  
  
Tidus mentally kicked himself. This just sounded so stupid.   
  
Kairi laughed softly and brushed her now slightly longer hair away. "Geez, boys, it's me, Kairi. I'm not an alien." Again, she smiled sweetly and looked at the piece of paper Wakka was holding.  
  
Her smiled faded as she grabbed it, crumpling it up and throwing it away. Then she smiled again.  
  
"Children's play. Sorry about that, I was just so mad at them."  
  
She yawned and stretched, shaking her head slightly, making her auburn hair flutter with the wind.   
  
"So, do you come to get me back? I know I have done some pretty awful things and all...that's the reason I didn't come back." She looked at Wakka with an almost regretting expression and smiled once more.  
  
"That, and the fact that my boat was taken away by a storm," she said, laughing at her own bad luck.   
  
Tidus and Wakka exchanged a look, confused but pleasantly surprised by Kairi's new behavior. In fact, she was just the way they had imagined her to be, the way she had been before this thing with Sora and Riku started. Maybe Kairi had really grown up a bit, they had all had the time to think about their actions and everything seemed to be less complicated now.  
  
Tidus remembered his task and cleared his throat, before extending his hand to shake Kairi's hand.  
  
"We all really miss you, and we would love to have you back. We want to apologize for everything we did, and we hope that you accept it. Can we be friends again?"  
  
Tidus mentally patted himself on the back. This was just the right speech. Perfect. Wakka shook his head at the corniness of the speech, but smiled as Kairi nodded and shook his hand. Everything seemed to go well.  
  
After the first hurdle, they eventually began to talk and joke normally, getting used to being around each other again. Kairi told them of her adventures in the forest and Tidus and Wakka told her about the things that had been going on. The only thing they didn't mention was the cursed house. They hoped that Selphie would get everything back in place by the time they were back.  
  
Kairi smiled and laughed easily, even when the mention of Sora and Riku came up. She seemed to be totally happy for them and almost reminded of Selphie as she 'aww'ed at the stories Tidus and Wakka told with an annoyed sigh. Had Kairi really turned back into the bright angel she had once been? Or was this just a cover up for her ultimate master plan? Or what if... Kairi had never been a nice girl and was born pure evil??   
  
"We can take our time to get back, ya," Wakka said as they were halfway back. Tidus understood what he meant. They couldn't be sure that Selphie had managed to undo the curse, so they would just stay out on the sea for a little longer.  
  
"Yeah, you know what Wakka and I said before? I think the island you were stuck on should get your name. Like, Kairi Island or something."  
  
Kairi chuckled and shrugged, crossing her arms behind her head in Sora-style. Tidus and Wakka blinked as they saw this. Kairi had never ever done that before.  
  
"Yeah maybe. Heh, cool, I got my own island! We could go and discover even more islands and name them after you guys so everyone has an island," she said, giving them all a big grin, again very unlike Kairi but very much like Sora.  
  
The boys exchanged a look, but eventually shrugged it off. Kairi was nice and they got her back. That was all that mattered.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: *dramatic music* What's this with Kairi? Is she just faking her nice-ness (is that a word?) or is she truly back to normal? And what's up with that Sora-style? Did Kairi finally realize how cute Sora is and now she tries to be as cute as him? LoL, as IF she could be as cute as Sora!!  
  
Oh and the two baby turtles are gonna be some serious plot device. Or not. lol. I don't know, we'll see about that ^^  
  
Oh and there might be a lemon about Sora and Riku's **shower** but I don't know when I'll write that... *shrugs*  
  
Anyway, review as always and stay tuned (even though the baaaad thingy could prevent me from updating soon....) 


	43. Difficult

Author's Ranting: Wow already chapter 43! The bad thing is over, phew, everything's fine. I was getting kinda worried, but all righty! I updated!  
  
I just don't know if this chapter is any good, it may be kind of...weird. I dunno, I wasn't really paying attention to what I was typing... O.o  
  
anyway, I hope this is ok so read on ^^ ...oh and the shower lemon... couldn't get to write it yet, maybe later... -_-  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Riku entered their room again, clean and fully dressed. Sora was wearing a huge grin on his face while Riku looked rather dazed. The younger boy took a deep breath and plopped down on the bed, stretching and yawning. Riku had to struggle to stand straight and nearly tripped over the things in Sora's messy room.   
  
"I feel so much better now," Sora grinned, practically blinding Riku with his shining happiness. Riku nodded lamely and eventually plopped down on the floor, staring at the ceiling with half lidded eyes.   
  
A knock was audible and Sora's ears perked up as he sat up.   
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
Riku, who seemed to be really out of it, shrugged and closed his eyes. "Need to..rest...for...next round..." he then announced, turning to his side to curl up into a ball.   
  
Sora's grin widened, but faltered as he heard the knock again. There was definitely someone at his door.   
  
"I'll go open up," he said, hopping down from his bed. Riku didn't bother to move and Sora poked him with his foot as he passed the curled up form on the floor. Riku gave a grunt, but remained motionless.   
  
Sora rolled his eyes and carefully stepped over Riku to walk towards the door. There was the knock again and Sora finally opened the door to find..   
  
Selphie   
  
with two turtles in her arms.  
  
Sora's eyebrows shot up and he blinked. "Sel--?"  
  
He was cut off by the yellow rubber ball and nearly fell over as she began to jump up and down.   
  
"SORA SORA SORA! I couldn't find anything to undo the curse but look what I have here! Two baby turtles! And guess what their names are! SORA AND RIKU! Aren't the cute? Aren't they? Aren't they? So anyway I know a better way to get the curse away! Let's just blow the house up, because, no house, no curse, right? Right? Isn't that great? Aren't Sora and Riku cute?" she blabbed without pausing to breathe, but when she looked at Riku lying curled up on the floor she cocked her head.   
  
"Why's Lord Fluffy Tail lying on the floor?"  
  
Sora raised his eyebrows in surprise and Riku hissed at his new nickname. Selphie grinned at the reaction and set the two turtles on the floor before she grabbed Sora's hands to bounce with him.  
  
"The turtles are Sora and Riku, so you need a nickname so we won't get confused! Riku is Lord Fluffy Tail and you're...I couldn't find a name for you! I'll just call you 'You' ok?"   
  
Sora's paled at Selphie's mad expression and the fact that Riku was screaming as the turtles began to crawl to him didn't help at all. Sora felt like being in a madhouse.  
  
"Oooo~kay. Now let's just...get serious. You say you couldn't find anything to--"  
  
"GET THE TURTLES OFF ME!! GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!! AHH I HATE TURTLES! GET THEM OFF!!"   
  
Sora was interrupted by Riku's screams. Turtle-phobia? Selphie pouted and rushed over to take her turtles back into her arms and punched Riku.   
  
"Don't be so mean to Sora and Riku!" she scolded him and stomped her foot. Riku glared at her but as Selphie shoved a turtle towards his face, he shrank and whimpered.   
  
Sora stared in disbelief and scratched his head. Was he the only sane person in this room?  
  
Selphie smirked and turned. "I'll go get the dynamite now. Meet you at Kairi's house, then we're gonna ROCK!" she giggled and bounced through the door, leaving Riku crouched on the floor, clutching to the carpet for dear life. Sora just continued to stare. Suddenly, Selphie's words sank in.   
  
"DYNAMITE?! Riku!" He turned to Riku, a look of fear in his eyes. "Selphie's going to blow up the house! We have to stop her!!"  
  
Riku calmed down and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, don't tell me you believe this. Where should she find dynamite anyway? Selphie's *not* going to blow up anything." He stood up and lay back on the bed, stretching and yawning. "Besides, we still have something to do, right?" He lifted his head from the mattress to glance at Sora.   
  
The brunette tried hard to resist the look in those mesmerizing aqua eyes but found himself getting weak. Riku smirked as he saw Sora lick his lips.   
  
"Good boy," he chuckled, beckoning Sora to come over to the bed. Sora smiled and jumped Riku, kissing him fiercely. Riku smirked into the kiss and pulled his boyfriend closer.   
  
"Mmn Riku," Sora broke the kiss and pulled away. "Just one question." Riku pouted and tried to kiss Sora again, but the brunette pulled away, shaking his head.   
  
"Wait, let me ask you something."   
  
Riku heaved a long sigh and rolled his eyes. "Spill it."  
  
Sora smiled, then his smile turned into a grin.   
  
"Why did you never tell me you're afraid of turtles?"   
  
Riku's eyes widened and Sora broke into a fit of giggles, straddling Riku's hips while doing so. The silver haired boy growled and reached out to crush Sora's mouth back to his own.   
  
"Shut up," he muttered between kisses, and Sora grinned. They were just about to get more intimate as two voices shouted in front of Sora's house.  
  
"I THINK WE SHOULD LET SORA AND RIKU KNOW THAT YOU, KAIRI, ARE BACK! RIGHT, KAIRI?" Tidus shouted purposely towards Sora's window. Kairi looked a little puzzled as she wondered why Tidus was shouting so loud. She was walking right next to him.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I guess we should," she answered, shrugging slightly.   
  
"THAT'S RIGHT, YA! SINCE KAIRI IS HERE, SORA AND RIKU SHOULD SAY HELLO!"   
  
Kairi covered her ears as Wakka shouted, too. Were they out of their minds?  
  
Sora heard the voices and his eyes widened. He violently pulled away, rolling off Riku and landed on the floor.   
  
"Riku! Kairi! She's back!" Sora exclaimed, getting to his feet to run out of the room. He didn't even bother to see if Riku followed him.  
  
The silver haired boy lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. His heart was racing and he felt cold all of the sudden. Kairi was back. And Sora was already choosing her instead of him. He frowned, lifting his hand to his mouth and traced his finger over his lips. What would it be like if he would never be able to kiss Sora again? Riku shivered.   
  
Outside, Sora practically fell through the door. Tidus and Wakka were standing next to each other, having anxious looks on their faces. Kairi was standing behind them, scratching her head.   
  
"Um, hi?" she offered, giving Sora one of his trademark grins. Sora would have noticed this if he hadn't been too excited that Kairi was back.   
  
"KAIRI!" He almost glomped her, hugging her tight. "I'm glad to see you!"   
  
Kairi smiled and pulled away, tilting her head to one side. "Oh? So I'm welcomed here?"  
  
Sora nodded eagerly and took her head. "Kairi, I've made some mistakes. I'm sorry, really. We're all sorry. We didn't mean to abandon you on that island." He paused, frowning. "Okay, so we did mean to do that. We thought you were an evil witch and I didn't want to see you ever again. But that was then! We regret it now! Right guys?" he turned to Tidus and Wakka who were exchanging looks every now and then. Sora raised an eyebrow and the two boys shrugged.   
  
Kairi shook her head. "No, it's all right. To be honest, I was the stupid one. I'M sorry for what I did, I should have never..." she looked down, taking a deep breath. Then she looked up again, smiling. "Sora, I missed you. I want us to be friends again. I promise, this time I'll be good."  
  
Sora nodded and hugged her again, this time Kairi hugged him back, pulling him as close as possible. Right in that moment, Riku walked out. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Sora and Kairi hugging in a way they shouldn't hug, or at least so it seemed to his eyes. He frowned and dropped his gaze, slowly walking towards them. He tapped Sora on the shoulder to make the boy pull away.   
  
When he stood before Kairi he looked into her eyes. "Welcome back," he said in a voice so monotonous that it sounded almost scary. He gave her a hug, mechanically and forced, and then walked past her, strolling away. Sora blinked.  
  
Kairi felt her cheeks redden and tried to stay calm. Riku had hugged her! He had *hugged* her!   
  
Tidus and Wakka exchanged even more looks, making it look like they were conversing through telepathy. A time of silence overcame them and everyone just stood there, thinking to themselves, until Kairi decided to break the silence.   
  
"I think I need to go home now. I'd like to take a shower and change my clothes..." She tugged on her clothes and grinned sheepishly at the others. Sora smiled, wondering why Kairi seemed so different now, but then remembered her house.  
  
"Oh! Wait! No, Kairi, you can't go back yet. Umm...why not stay with me? You can shower in my house! And I'll get you the clothes you want."  
  
Kairi blinked and shrugged. "Uhh...okay? But why can't I go back?" she asked, cocking her head in confusion. Sora fidgeted around and looked at Tidus for help. The blonde shrugged. He had done enough for one day, why should he always help everyone out?   
  
Sora sighed. "Just stay here. Your house is too far away, you need to rest, right?" He hoped that Kairi would leave it as that.   
  
The girl gave him an incredulous look, but agreed. "Fine. You'll get me clothes?"  
  
Sora nodded.   
  
Kairi shrugged and went into his house, closing the door behind her.   
  
Sora covered his face with his hands and moaned. "What are we supposed to do now? The house is still cursed and Selphie wants to blow it up!"  
  
Tidus and Wakka exchanged a few looks and shrugged. Sora blinked, noting that they hadn't even said anything.   
  
"What's wrong with you guys?" He looked at them, thinking that they were hiding something. Eventually, Tidus ran a hand through his hair and sighed.   
  
"I don't know if you've noticed since you just saw her for a few moments, but we spent some time with Kairi, and we think she's changed."  
  
Sora nodded. "That's good, isn't it?"  
  
Wakka looked away and Tidus frowned. "She has not only changed, but she's acting like...like she's someone else."  
  
Sora nodded again. "But she's nice, isn't she?"  
  
Wakka slapped his forehead and placed a hand on Tidus's shoulder, shaking his head. Sora blinked in confusion. Tidus rolled his eyes. He would find out soon enough.   
  
"We'll go look for Selphie," Tidus then said, already beginning to walk. Wakka followed him and turned around once more.   
  
"You should talk to Riku, ya! He's been weird back then," he called before he and Tidus walked away.   
  
Now Sora was standing alone in front of his house, feeling confused. What did they mean 'she's acting like she's someone else'? And was Riku hurt? He really did seem weird as he came out of the house. Sora groaned. Riku was probably jealous again. Couldn't he see that his jealousy was ridiculous? Sora loved Riku and nothing could change that.   
  
The brunette ruffled his hair in despair and began to run into the direction Riku had left to. He had to talk to him. Just what would he say? He didn't know. Sora was frustrated. No matter what he did, he could never convince Riku that he loved him more than anything. Shouldn't Riku trust him? If Riku loved him as much as he did, shouldn't he have enough trust to not be jealous over everyone?   
  
The sand beneath Sora's feet was wet as he walked along the shore. The waves swapped over the ground as he walked and he felt his shoes getting wet. However, he didn't mind. He was too caught up in his thoughts to notice.   
  
On the little island where the Paopu tree was standing, Riku sat leaned against the tree, looking up at the sky. His mind kept showing him the picture of Sora and Kairi hugging, and he clenched his fists as he thought of this. He felt lost. What if Kairi and Sora belonged together? What if there was no place for him? He wanted Kairi to leave, he wanted her to vanish so he could take her place. He didn't want Sora to like anyone else.   
  
Sora stopped walking as he saw Riku on his favorite spot. Suddenly, he didn't feel like talking to Riku anymore. He didn't know what to tell him, because no matter what he said, Riku wouldn't believe him, right? He would always be jealous. It was just the way Riku was, the way Riku had always been.   
  
He kicked the sand and swallowed, feeling his eyes getting damp. He remained in his place for a while, watching the silver haired boy sitting motionlessly. Riku was beautiful, sitting there with one leg stretched while one hand hugged the other leg. The wind play with his hair, making it cover his eyes like a mysterious veil. Beautiful, but extremely jealous and obsessive.  
  
Riku could be so difficult.   
  
Staring at the sky, Riku felt his vision getting blurry. He lifted his hand to his mouth and traced his fingers over his lips once again. How he longed for Sora to kiss him. But Sora was too naive and too loving to just forget everything. He could never forget any of his friends, not even for Riku. For him, friends were the most important thing in life...probably even more important than love. An image of a little Sora grinning at Riku entered his mind.   
  
He remembered as Sora looked at him with twinkling eyes and told him that he would always be his best friend.   
  
Riku covered his eyes with his hand, clenching his teeth. Friend. Riku began to hate the word. Friends would only take Sora away from him. Friends like Kairi. But Sora cared for Kairi, a lot. And it seemed as though he couldn't decide which one he cared about more. Riku or Kairi.   
  
Sora could be so difficult.  
  
~  
  
In Sora's bathroom, Kairi was humming happily as she dried herself with a towel. She looked into the mirror and smiled, beginning to put the clothes on she had taken from Sora's closet. She didn't want to wait for Sora to come back with her clothes so she just took what she could find. She smiled at her reflection. The only thing that she needed to change was...  
  
Taking out the hairbrush, she began to redo her hairstyle.  
  
~  
  
"Selphie! Selphie are you here? Sel--?" Tidus's eyes widened as he saw Selphie. Wakka's jaw hit the floor and they stared at her in shock. Was she really..? Selphie grinned, patting the package of explosives in her arm.  
  
"Hiya boys! Let's get the party started!"  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: So like I said...no lemon yet... although this chapter takes places after the lemon. You can guess what they did by Riku's behavior at the beginning heh....   
  
Next Chapter... Sora and Riku getting troubles in their relationship? They can be SO DIFFICULT!   
  
I was listening to Anywhere by Evanescence and although the lyrics aren't really that angsty, the song made me write the last part of this chapter... I think I could mix a little angst into Next Lesson, what do you think?   
  
Because if Next Lesson gets too depressing (which it shouldn't) then you can read my newest KH fic Strawberry Bubbles! It's pure kawaiiness but will eventually develop some plot I guess. Okay, stay tuned! 


	44. A Promise

Author's Ranting: Ok how long was it? I haven't updated for soo long! Man...sorry, everyone! I don't even have a real excuse...just that... RealLife kinda took over O.O OMG there's a world outside my room?! yeaaahh there is and it kept me from writing...grr...BAAAD WORLD! BAAAD!  
  
Ya anyway, I got the next chapter here! Aren't you proud of me? AREN'T YOU? *glares* Good.  
  
Have fun! *smiles sweetly*  
  
~~~  
  
"Hiya boys! Let's get the party started!"   
  
Tidus and Wakka stared in horror at the girl with the dynamite in her hand.   
  
"Se-se-se-se-Selphie! Where the hell did you get this stuff?!" Tidus yelled, taking her by the shoulders. The girl blinked and cocked her head.   
  
"From my room, where else?" She wriggled out of his grip and started bouncing towards Kairi's house. The two boys frowned and ran after her, trying to hold her back.  
  
"Selphie! Get a grip! You can't just blow up the house! It's Kairi's home, and now that she's back..."  
  
Selphie spun around. "Kairi's back?! Already?? How??" She dropped the explosives and looked at Tidus. "How?" she repeated.   
  
The two boys exchanged a look and Tidus sighed. "Well...Wakka and I...we got her back while you were busy finding a spell."   
  
Selphie opened her mouth to say something but shut it shortly after and frowned. She looked at the ground, wrinkles forming on her forehead. Then she looked back at Tidus and Wakka, crossing her arms. Her lips formed a pout and she stomped her foot.  
  
"You went without me?! I wanted to be with you when you got her back.." she paused, putting a hand to her chin.   
  
"Ah never mind that now! I have work to do!" She quickly bent over to pick up the dynamite and placed it before Kairi's house. Tidus and Wakka followed her. The redhead motioned Tidus to distract Selphie so he could catch her. Then they would talk some sense into her, or at least take away the dynamite. The blonde nodded and the boy started the action.   
  
"Hey Selphie, I got a huge bowl of ice-cream there. Wanna have it?" Tidus called out to Selphie, immediately earning the girl's attention.  
  
"Ice-cream!" she squealed, jumping towards him. "Where where where where where where?" she raved, bouncing on her feet as though she was already high on sugar. "Wheeere?"   
  
Tidus smiled and jerked his thumb behind him. Selphie peered wide eyed behind her boyfriend, drool already running down from the corners of her mouth. Tidus stepped aside to clear the view, and as Selphie leaned forward to see the ice-cream, Wakka appeared out of nowhere, and captured her, holding her with all his strength. The girl yelped and then screamed, trying to kick Wakka but Tidus placed a hand on her head to stop her.  
  
"Selphie. Hello, Selphie," he called, waving a hand before her eyes. She looked up and glared at him.  
  
"What's wrong with you? I have a job to do here!" She kicked some more and then bit into Wakka's arm, causing him to yell in pain. He didn't loosen his grip, though.   
  
Tidus tried to calm her by cupping her face.   
  
"Selphie, it's okay, you don't have to blow up this house, all right? Put away the dynamite and calm down. No blowing up today. Just, breathe, breathe Selphie."  
  
The brunette pouted and intentionally held her breath. Tidus sighed and patted her head and she stopped struggling, glaring at nothing in particular.  
  
~~~  
  
"Are you planning to watch me all day or what?" A voice echoed from the Paopu Island and shook Sora out of his thoughts.   
  
"Huh?" He blinked and narrowed his eyes, seeing that Riku hadn't moved. But he was sure that Riku had just spoken. Sora kicked the sand beneath his feet and scowled, wondering what he should do. Of course he came here to talk to Riku, but he just realized that he didn't even know what to say.   
  
Riku remained motionless, just as though he was a statue. It frustrated Sora that he didn't know what the other was thinking.   
  
"I'm coming to you," he murmured, more to himself than to Riku and ran towards the water to climb up the ladder instead of taking the bridge. As he made his way upwards, he heard Riku move away from the tree and as he was finally on the island, he saw Riku jumping into the water.   
  
Sora blinked and stared at Riku's swimming form.   
  
"Hey!" he called, frowning in confusion. Riku turned around to swim on his back and Sora could have sworn that there was a challenging smirk on his lips. The brunet narrowed his eyes and then smirked back, accepting the challenge. With one swift movement he dove into the water, swimming after Riku to catch up with him. Unfortunately the older boy was faster and it seemed that he was leading him somewhere.   
  
Sora followed his friend and they eventually reached a place he held dearly in his memories. The little cave near the pier. The brunet smiled as he watched Riku a little further away, already crawling out of the water. Sora quickly swam over and followed suit, shaking his head to dry his hair.   
  
Meanwhile Riku started to take off his clothes, throwing the wet garments to the floor.   
  
"Damn. How could I be so stupid. I should take them off *before* I jump into the water...." Riku mumbled, fighting to get his pants off. They were soaked and clung to him.   
  
Sora started to grin as he watched Riku mumbling and cursing, trying to undress. No matter how *difficult* Riku was, his sexiness and cuteness would always make up for it. Eventually, Riku finished and only wore his boxer shorts, which were of course wet, too, but he didn't feel like running around naked right now, although Sora would have liked it for sure. The younger boy almost groaned in disappointment when he saw that Riku sat down in his underpants.   
  
Silence overcame them and Riku just sat there, letting the heat dry his skin. Sora was still in his wet clothes, looking as though he was deep in thought.   
  
After a while, Sora sighed and crawled over to Riku, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. No words were exchanged but it felt like they were having a clearing conversation. Riku put his arm around Sora's waist, pulling him closer so that Sora leaned against his neck, nuzzling it lightly.   
  
For some time, they just sat like that, waiting for their clothes to dry. Sora felt them cling to him, making him feel a little uncomfortable. But Riku's embrace was too comfortable to move...his clothes could wait.   
  
Riku let his fingers play over Sora's waist as his hand rested there and tugged Sora's head under his chin, feeling Sora snuggle up to him with a content sigh. The waves of the ocean and the boys' breathing were the only sounds as the two lovers sat in silence. They closed their eyes and simply relaxed by holding each other, feeling their body heat warm each other.  
  
But after some time, Sora pulled away. He looked serious and let his hands rest in his lap. He had a frown on his face which made Riku worry a little. The moment had been so peaceful. He was almost afraid that Sora would ruin it with words. He didn't want to hear them now. He didn't want to know about his naive conceptions.   
  
"I wish you could just read my mind," Sora suddenly said, turning to look into Riku's eyes. The silver haired boy blinked in surprise and then raised an eyebrow in question.   
  
Sora sighed and nodded. "I don't know how to put in words what I want to tell you. I really don't know. Because I think whenever I say something it gets out the wrong way and then everything is ruined."  
  
The younger boy hugged himself and looked down at the ground with a frown.  
  
Riku rubbed his temples and looked away, thinking. What should he respond now? He wished *Sora* could read his mind, so he would know that Riku had absolutely no idea what to say.   
  
"I have no idea what to say," he suddenly blurted out, surprising both Sora and himself.   
  
The brunet's head snapped up to him and stared at him in wonder. His eyes were fixed on Riku and something in them changed. They almost looked as though they were laughing. And then Sora smiled.   
  
"For once, the great Riku does not know a witty response, huh?" he murmured, smiling a little sadly.   
  
Riku looked down but then turned back to face Sora and he nodded, smiling, too.   
  
"I'm...sorry. I wish *you* could read my thoughts. Because maybe then you could understand them and tell me what the hell I'm thinking. It's like, I don't understand myself anymore."  
  
Sora nodded eagerly. "That's exactly what I feel! I...there are so many things I want to say but I don't know how. It seems like my thoughts can't be told in words..." he trailed off, moving a little closer to Riku.   
  
The silver haired boy sighed and also moved closer to Sora. He heaved a long sigh and tilted his head up to look at the ceiling of the cave.   
  
"This cave is our secret place. No one is allowed to ever come here. When...when we feel strange or sad, we come here. When we don't know what to say, we just come here and sit together. And should we happen to be somehow apart from each other, I'll be here so you can find me."  
  
He tilted his head back as he supported himself on his hands.   
  
Sora was silent and just watched Riku, realizing how young the silver haired boy looked like this. He was sitting like a little boy, legs stretched out, supporting himself on his hands as he leaned his head back. And what he said...  
  
"It's a promise."  
  
Riku turned back to look at Sora and sat up properly. He held out his hand, towards Sora, and nodded at him.   
  
The brunet hesitated, but only for a split of a second, and then reached out to take his hand, nodding with a smile.   
  
"A promise."  
  
They sat in silence again, gazing into each others eyes. But although they were smiling, they still felt like they hadn't solved their problems. Something was simply wrong in their relationship, and that must be solved.   
  
Riku's thumb began to caress the back of Sora's hand as they continued to look at each other. One moment's bliss was all they had. This blissful peacefulness. For one moment, they were simply together, without the worries about others, without thinking about anyone. In this moment, they were simply Sora and Riku, simply in love.   
  
Riku suddenly frowned. "Do you...still love me?" he then asked, quietly, almost shakily.   
  
Sora's hand reeled back as if burned and he stared at Riku with a strange expression. His mouth was open, but there was no sound coming out. Riku frowned even more and looked down to the ground again, feeling strange. It felt like their relationship had changed over time. It felt like something was missing. Or maybe there was something surplus.   
  
And then, Sora got up, rubbing his arms as though he was cold, before he turned around and ran towards the edge to jump into the water without even looking back. Riku closed his eyes, he didn't want to see how Sora left him. The splash of water was audible and Riku bit his lip so hard that it drew blood. Had he scared Sora away with this question? Did this mean that Sora didn't love him anymore?   
  
Riku swallowed his tears and began to put on his clothes.  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile at Kairi's house.   
  
"Okay, I promise I won't blow up anything. Just let me go now!" Selphie demanded, struggling again. Wakka frowned at Tidus and the blonde narrowed his eyes. Selphie was unpredictable.   
  
"All right. First, I'll get rid of the explosives. Then Wakka will let you go."  
  
Tidus carefully picked all the dynamite up and ran away to hide it somewhere. Selphie would find them anyway. They just had to convince her that she shouldn't.   
  
When he came back he nodded at Wakka and the redhead let go. Selphie squealed and immediately bounced up and down with inhuman speed. After she was done she blew out her breath and stretched.   
  
"All right. No blowing up. I'm busy with Sora and Riku, anyway! I have to feed them!"   
  
Tidus and Wakka exchanged a look as Selphie began running off.   
  
"Sora and Riku?"  
  
"Feed them?"  
  
The boys shrugged and sighed, plopping down on the ground. At least Selphie hadn't blown up the house. But there had to be something to undo the curse.   
  
"Come on, let's go play Blitzball, ya?" Wakka suggested. He put an arm around Tidus and pulled him up.   
  
"Just leave it for now. Maybe Kairi won't even notice," he said, walking away from the house. Tidus sighed and hung his head.  
  
"If things were just so easy..." he murmured, letting Wakka pull him along.   
  
When the two boys were gone, Selphie peeked from behind a palm.   
  
"Yeah! They're gone!" She patted the two turtles in her arms and grinned before she put them down on the sand. "Ooo~kay! Come on, Sora, Riku, here we go again! Let's get the party started - Take 2!" she giggled insanely and started to spread petrol all over the house, leaving a trail to a nearby palm where her turtles were sitting.   
  
"Good. And now...." She took a deep breath and took out a lighter. She had a total serious expression and nodded at her turtles, then lit the trail of benzine with the fire. In no time the trail was burning and Selphie picked up her pets, running away as fast as she could.   
  
"They didn't say I couldn't burn it down. It was just 'don't blow it up!'" she proudly declared while she ran. Today's mission....accomplished! The cursed house was no more!  
  
~~~  
  
And somewhere in Sora's house, Kairi was oblivious to all that was happening, happily looking at her reflection in the mirror. The new style fit her, she thought. Of course, her hair couldn't look exactly like Sora's, but it was close enough. Everything seemed to be perfect...and the real fun would start as soon as she got back into her house.   
  
Unfortunately, she didn't know that her house was currently a mass of flames.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: I'm not too cruel to Sora and Riku am I? No I'm not. It won't get too angsty, don't worry. I could never endure such a thing... I just can't let my sweet bishounen suffer so much. A few hurt feelings OK but nothing too depressing, don't worry. And Kairi's going to be reaaally insane...I guess.   
  
And Selphie? Well, I think she's already insane enough. The problem is, I can just picture her doing all that stuff... I don't know why but I think it really fits her. And since she hasn't much of a personality in Kingdom Hearts anyway I'd say she isn't too OOC, what do you think? You can never tell by the little bit we know about her in KH.   
  
And there's something else. I think writing OOC is not even a bad thing... if you want them totally in character, just play the game! But if you wanna make them do something you would like to see, they just *have* to be a little OOC. I think.   
  
But that's only my humble opinion. Kay. That's it. Sorry to bother you with such boring and long ending notes (which you probably didn't read anyway)  
  
See ya and pleaaaase stay tuned for the next chapter! And don't forget to review *sees the number of reviews* HOLY SPOON! so many already? WOW! phew...wow... wow.... *is speechless for the rest of the day* 


	45. We're on a break!

Author's Ranting: Next Chapter already! I felt like writing ^^   
  
Ok, this chapter is going to be hard...I mean...read it. You'll see. Um, and...please don't hate me!  
  
~~~  
  
Sora was on his way back to his house as he furiously wiped at his tear-streaked face. Riku was so dumb! Riku was the dumbest person ever! Sora sobbed angrily and shook his head.  
  
How could he even think about asking this question? And he thought Riku trusted him. But seemingly his silver haired boyfriend didn't even feel loved. What more would Sora have to do to make him see that he was the only one he loved? Sora was frustrated and angry with Riku. How could he cause so much trouble?  
  
It seemed to be perfect that Kairi had come back, Sora thought. Maybe he could talk to her about his problems, and maybe she could help him. She had always been caring and nice, well, except for the time she went mad, but she seemed totally normal now.   
  
Sora took a deep breath and straightened himself, brushing the tears away. He finally reached his house where he stopped in front of his door. He had told Kairi that he would get her some clothes, which of course he hadn't. He shrugged. The best thing was to tell her the truth. He was sure that Kairi would understand. He was sure that Kairi would be able to help him through.  
  
Taking another deep breath, Sora pushed the door open, entering his house.  
  
"Kairi? Kairi I'm back," he called, walking into his room to change clothes. His clothes had dried but he still felt uncomfortable in them since they were wrinkled now.   
  
When he came to his room, he blinked in surprise.   
  
"Kairi?" He scratched his head and blinked a few more times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.   
  
The girl crossed her arms behind her head and smiled sweetly. "Oh, hello Sora. I hope you don't mind," she pointed at her clothes and shrugged with a sheepish grin.   
  
Sora dumbly shook his head and blinked even more.   
  
Kairi chuckled. "I figured you wouldn't be back in time, so I just borrowed some of your clothes," she said, walking over to pat his arm.  
  
"You all right?" she asked as she saw that Sora was just blinking and staring into nothingness.   
  
The brunet shook his head and slowly snapped out of it, turning his head to see Kairi. Her hairdo was weird, he thought. She looked like a crow had tried to build a nest in her hair.   
  
"What happened to your hair?" he stammered in confusion.   
  
Kairi giggled and shrugged again, cocking her head.   
  
"Don't like it? I thought I'd try something new."  
  
Sora nodded slowly and eventually walked to his bed to sit down. As he felt himself sink into the mattress something inside him pulled at his heart. How many nights had he spent with Riku in this bed, cuddling, talking, or even sharing moments of passion. And now it seemed as though this all meant nothing to Riku, as though it wasn't enough for him.   
  
Kairi noticed the sour look on Sora's face and frowned. She quickly made her way to his bed and sat down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulder.   
  
"Hey, what's wrong? Where's my cheerful Sora?"   
  
Sora winced and looked down, making his brown bangs cover his eyes. He didn't respond, but silently he mouthed "Riku". Kairi gently rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him.   
  
"Is it about Riku? Do you have problems?" Her voice was so light and soft, it made Sora feel a little better. He slowly turned to her, catching her gaze. For the first time, he realized how radiant her eyes were. They were not quite like gemstones but more like something soft, something natural. Riku's eyes were a perfect mingling of colors, but Kairi's eyes were simple yet wonderfully sparkling.   
  
He flinched as he realized what he was thinking. Was he comparing Kairi to Riku? Why should he do that?  
  
"Kairi..." he murmured, looking down again. The girl smiled and hooked a finger under his chin to make him look at her.   
  
"Come on...say...CHEEEEEESE!" She used Sora's trademark cheesy grin, surprising Sora immensely. He blinked in shock at the girl's antics but something in him told him to let it be. Kairi was successfully distracting him from his problems. Kairi was making him happy at the very moment.   
  
After a few seconds, Sora chuckled and gave Kairi a hug while the girl hugged him back.   
  
"See, now you feel better, don't you?" she whispered, patting his back.  
  
Sora pulled away and nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Thanks, Kairi. You know...Riku's so different from you...he's so stubborn...and paranoid! Yeah, that's what he is! Totally paranoid and suspicious about everything. He can be so difficult to deal with and he doesn't even trust me! Me, his best friend! Me, his BOYfriend!" Sora began blurting out all of his thoughts simply as they came to his mind.   
  
Kairi listened to him as Sora explained what had happened between them. She listened to Sora's stories about Riku being possessive, she listened as Sora told her about his everlasting distrust. And all the while she only nodded silently, taking in all the information like she was studying their relationship. She also seemed to be watching Sora's movements, the way he gestured with his hands as he talked and she even concentrated on his facial expressions.  
  
When Sora was finally finished, he felt exhausted and let himself fall backwards onto his bed.   
  
Kairi frowned for a while, then copied the action, lying beside Sora. Sora's mind was blank. For once, he felt relieved and his mind was free of worries.   
  
Then, he turned to his side and looked at Kairi.   
  
"What do you think?" he asked her with a hopeful expression.   
  
Kairi blinked as though he had caught her off guard and scratched her head.   
  
"Um, I think...I think..." she pouted slightly as she thought and Sora wrinkled his nose at her expression. Was he just imagining all this or was Kairi really kind of acting like him? He shrugged it off. He was probably just oversensitive now. Everything around him seemed to be something to worry about. He had to let it go.   
  
"I think you two should take a break," Kairi finally answered, sitting up. Sora jerked and quickly sat up, too, looking at her with wide eyes.   
  
"Really?"   
  
Kairi drew her legs up and hugged them, resting her head on her knees.   
  
"Sora, listen. You probably think I'm still trying to get you two apart, but it's not true. I'm really trying to help you." She turned to look Sora directly into his eyes.   
  
"I'm not lying, Sora. You can tell by my eyes, can't you?"   
  
Sora frowned and looked at Kairi, concentrating on her expression. She did seem honest. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with this natural beauty she possessed. Different from Riku, but still wonderful.  
  
Sora nodded.   
  
Kairi smiled slightly and went on. "I'm not saying that you should break up. No, you mustn't. But I think you should take a small break, you know, just avoid each other for a while to clear the things. Both of you have to work out some issues I guess, and maybe you can find a solution to you relationship problems."   
  
She paused, unwrapping her arms around her legs to put again put an arm around Sora.   
  
"If you don't want to tell him, I'll do it. I'll explain to him, even if he hates me. I hope he will understand, no, I'm sure he will understand. You two take a break, sort your feelings out, and then everything's all right again. What do you think, hm?" She smiled sweetly at Sora who had a somber expression on his face.   
  
He hesitated before answering. He believed every word Kairi said, he was sure that she was really trying to help him. But was her idea really that good? Should they really take a break? What if they just drifted apart more and never came together anymore?  
  
He wanted to tell all that to Kairi, but Kairi's loving smile made it impossible.   
  
"Okay..." he murmured, looking down again.   
  
He felt the girl pat his head before he saw her hopping off the bed.   
  
"Okay, Sora. Oh, hey," she stopped in front of the door. "I guess you should come with me to talk to Riku. I don't think he would believe me if I said you wanted to take a break."  
  
Sora nodded and followed Kairi, all the while facing the floor. He couldn't look up now, he felt like his head was too heavy to look up. The feeling of Kairi taking his hand, however, gave him some courage and he sighed.   
  
"I guess I will just tell him straight out."  
  
Kairi nodded and they went off to the beach. Sora suddenly stopped. The cave. If Riku was still there, he couldn't bring Kairi. This cave was just for the two of them. No one was allowed to enter it or to even know about it except for them. Sora sighed.   
  
"I don't know where he is," he muttered, turning around.   
  
As if on cue, Riku walked by, a few feet away from them with a nervously ranting Selphie clinging to his arm.  
  
"You gotta help me! I mean, REALLY! I can't do it alone and if we're unlucky the whole island will--"  
  
"Riku!" Sora called, cutting Selphie's endless ramblings off.   
  
Kairi squeezed his hand and together, they walked towards the two other teens. Riku's expression was blank as he stood with Selphie clinging to his arm. He looked at Sora and Kairi holding hands and then looked away.   
  
"What do you want?" he casually asked, not facing any of them.  
  
Sora opened his mouth but felt a lump in his throat. He almost turned around, wanting to run away, but Kairi stopped him.   
  
"Sora, you know why you're here," she whispered, squeezing his hand again. Sora clenched his teeth and shook his head.   
  
"I can't..." he whispered back, trying not to look at Riku. It hurt so much just to see him now.   
  
"Sora," Kairi urged, putting her around his shoulders. Riku flinched.   
  
Sora finally nodded and turned back to Riku. He closed his eyes and opened them again, staring right into the other boy's eyes.   
  
"Riku. I--I think we should..should take a break. I--I mean--" Kairi squeezed his hand yet again, nodding at him to give him courage.   
  
"I mean, from now on, we're on a break!" Sora barked out, squeezing his eyes shut before he ran away, pulling Kairi with him. He ran as fast as he could, almost as if he was trying to flee from the response. He didn't want to see how Riku coped with it, he didn't even want to know what he felt about it.   
  
It was too much.   
  
"Sora, Sora! Calm down!" Kairi called as she was being pulled after him. Sora never slowed but simply continued to run farther and unconsciously ended up at the secret cave near the tiny waterfall. He stopped and rubbed at his eyes, then slowly went through the passage until they were in the cave. Kairi silently followed him and they eventually sat down.  
  
Sora curled up into a ball and had his eyes closed while Kairi simply watched him in silence.   
  
So far, so good, Kairi thought.   
  
~~  
  
"A BREAK?!" Selphie shrieked as she watched Sora disappear. Riku was silent while Selphie began to whine and wail about Sora's statement. It seemed as though Selphie was taking this a lot worse than Riku.   
  
Riku chuckled, and Selphie stared wide eyed at him. Riku chuckled again, and eventually even began to laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. Selphie stared in confusion. Riku continued to laugh as if this all had been a joke.   
  
"I should have known!" he cried out, laughing even more. Selphie could see a tear rolling down his cheek, and then she knew he wasn't laughing anymore but crying. Of course, he tried to cover it up as laughter, because Riku would never cry in front of anyone. Selphie's hyperness and worries about the burning house were gone immediately, and all her concentration was focused on Riku.   
  
"Hey," she softly cooed, gently rubbing the arm she had been clinging to. "Riku, come on," she said, patting him slightly.   
  
Riku stopped laughing and his expression was blank again. He stared into the distance as Selphie wrapped her arms around him, hugging him for comfort. They remained like this for a while and Riku's mind was full of broken fragments of images. The feeling Selphie's embrace caused, made him relax a little. But it wasn't the same as Sora hugging him. Nothing was the same when it wasn't Sora.   
  
Riku eventually gave in and sank down to the ground, pulling Selphie with him. The girl continued to hug him and rubbed his back in a soothing motion. She did know how to stop being insane and comfort people. This almost made Riku chuckle. He had always known that Selphie was an unique girl.   
  
"Selphie," he murmured, grateful for her care.   
  
"Yes, Lord Fluffy Tail?" she replied, and Riku could hear the grin in her voice. He chuckled and pulled away, shaking his head. He sighed and stroked her cheek.   
  
"Thanks," he said with a smile although his heart was still aching. It was a dull pain, something like coldness taking over him. The freezing feeling was hurting him, but it also made him feel numb and dull. His heart felt like it was turning into ice. He sighed again, tears threatening to escape his eyes again. He was near despair.   
  
"Stop it!" Selphie demanded, and Riku looked at her. "Stop being hurt! You know that Sora and you are destined to be together! Don't forget the present I gave you, you know the photo album! This is the evidence! You can't just let him break up like this."  
  
Riku shook his head. "He said we're on a break. We haven't broken up seriously...just...stopped seeing each other for a while....." he trailed off, knowing exactly that telling himself this wouldn't help. He knew that he had gone too far. Although he didn't know why, Sora felt offended and this time it was for real. He couldn't just make it up with a lame letter or anything else. He couldn't hope for Sora to come back to him.   
  
"Maybe you two do need a break..." Selphie suddenly murmured, frowning thoughtfully. Riku nodded, inwardly breaking down at the thought of avoiding Sora or having the boy avoid him.   
  
"You know what your problem is?" Selphie poked Riku's chest, pouting at him.   
  
Riku shook his head, frowning. The brunette nodded and crossed her arms. "You're too tense! I think what drove Sora away from you was that you were constantly paranoid about others liking him! You can be obsessive as much as you want, just be sure to keep it to yourself!"   
  
The girl got up and straightened herself while Riku blinked in confusion.   
  
"You made Sora feel constricted and frustrated with your jealousy. Come on, I'll teach you some lessons about relationships!" She gave him a big smile, offering her hand.   
  
After considering the words, Riku accepted the hand and let the girl pull him up, surprised by her strength. And again, he had to realize what an unique girl Selphie was. Tidus was sure lucky to have a girlfriend like her. Where were Tidus and Wakka anyway? Riku almost started another pointless train of thoughts but Selphie quickly shattered it.   
  
"First lesson will be about how to react when you see your boyfriend kissing another girl...or boy!" She exclaimed almost happily and pulled Riku along to her house for her teachings.   
  
Riku smiled at Selphie's energetic enthusiasm and shrugged. It couldn't hurt to take in some information. Maybe he would get Sora back after all. And this break wouldn't last too long....  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: So, Sora and Riku are on a break. You know of what this reminds me? Rachel and Ross from Friends lol! I didn't mean to make it like that but now that I wrote it... it kinda reminds me of them... ah anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I think it adds to the plot when they take a break...   
  
If you're wondering about Kairi's house...it's still burning XD ...guess it will be a heap of ashes in the next chapter...  
  
review plz and stay tuned as always for the next episode of the never ending soap opera! heh... 


	46. Selphie's crazy lesson

Author's Ranting: And here goes Chapter 46! Sora and Riku are on a break, but what exactly does that mean? Can't they see each other anymore?   
  
Riku is taking a lesson from Selphie and Tidus and Wakka are helping out... how's that going to turn out? READ IT! ^^  
  
~~~  
  
Sora sat in the cave with Kairi, eyes squeezed shut to prevent the tears from falling. He could see Riku still before him, the shock written all over his face as he uttered the words.   
  
'WE'RE ON A BREAK!'  
  
He winced. If it hurt Riku half as much as it hurt Sora, then he must be dying right now.   
  
Then, the image in his mind changed into Kairi smiling at him, and to his surprise it scared him. It disgusted him in a way he couldn't understand, almost as if his mind was trying to tell him that she was evil. But what was evil about her? Sora knew that she had changed, that she wanted to help him.  
  
And again the image before him changed into Riku. Riku, sleeping peacefully with his hair spread beautifully on the pillow. He remembered when he had seen him sleep like this, surprised by how innocent he could look. So pure and child-like despite his obsession to be seme.   
  
Sora mentally sighed. That was the whole problem. Riku had just this obsession of dominance and possession. It made Sora sick. But at the same time he longed for Riku to come running in, beat him senseless and take him with him.   
  
Okay, so he didn't want to get beaten. But he suddenly found that he wouldn't mind at all if Riku just came in here and demanded Sora to come back to him. He actually counted on this. So, wasn't he serious about this break? Sora sighed. He didn't know. He had just done what had seemed right at the moment, what Kairi told him. He believed in her.   
  
Meanwhile Riku followed Selphie into her house.   
  
"So, the first lesson will be about how to react when you find your boyfriend kissing someone else. Therefor I will call Tidus and Wakka. Stay here and take care of Sora and Riku, Lord Fluffy Tail!" Selphie pushed Riku into her room, which was full of stuffed animals and toys, and waved before she bounced off to get the other boys.   
  
"Sora and Riku, huh?" Riku quietly murmured, scanning the room for the two turtles. He shuddered at the thought of those small, green, slowly crawling things that were in this room. He hoped they were sleeping and wouldn't creep around on the floor so he had to watch them.   
  
Something in the left corner moved and Riku mewled, jumping onto the bed. He grimaced as he saw the green thing on the floor, moving so slow and sluggish.   
  
"Come near me and I kill you," Riku muttered, hoping that it would stop moving. Watching it made him sick. Then he remembered that there was supposed to be another one of these -things- and he quickly jumped off the bed as he thought he felt something creep onto him. He was getting paranoid, all right. Riku frowned and looked around the room. There was the bigger one, still crawling around on the floor and then he saw the second one, sitting on Selphie's desk. It almost seemed to look at him, moving its mouth as if to say something. Riku shuddered. This was more than creepy.   
  
As the one on the desk started to move, Riku panicked.   
  
"Nononononono you don't come here, nononono!" He bit his lip, fumbling with the doorknob while his eyes were fixed on the turtles, moving towards him. The one of the floor was suddenly extremely fast, or so it seemed to him and the one on the desk was searching for a way to get down and follow. Riku shouted at them to stay in place, but nothing worked, and eventually the silver haired boy managed to open the door.   
  
He let out a scream and ran away as fast as he could, far, far away from the sluggish monsters. He was constantly looking back as he ran, hoping that the turtles wouldn't follow him. Who knew what things Selphie had done to them. Maybe they were mutant turtles and could talk and fight and even *eat* humans. Ok, so they weren't. But Riku was scared and he was not afraid to admit it. So he ran in panic.   
  
It was on his way towards the beach that he bumped into someone while he was still looking back.   
  
"Ow! Watch where you--" Sora rubbed his nose and looked at the person that had almost knocked him over. His eyes widened.   
  
Riku's head snapped forward, and it seemed like he had a psyched look on his face.   
  
"They're after me!" he cried out, frantically pointing at the distance. Sora frowned and cocked his head, wondering how much he had hurt Riku. Did he go insane now after they broke up?  
  
"Um, yes, Riku. They're after you, but they won't get you. Come on, let's go this way..." Sora muttered, grabbing Riku's arm to drag him to the tree house.   
  
When they reached the place, Sora climbed the ladder, waiting for Riku to follow him. The silver haired boy stared at the ladder as though it was a monster and Sora sighed in annoyance.   
  
"Riku, it's all right. Whatever is trying to kill you, it's not here. Come up to me." He stopped, frowning in confusion. Hadn't he just decided to avoid Riku? They were on a break, so did that mean they couldn't see each other? Or were they just supposed not to make out? Sora suddenly realized that he had no idea what a 'break' was so he also didn't know how to act.   
  
Riku came climbing up the ladder and eventually sat down huddled up in the corner, murmuring something about greenish sluggish things in Selphie's house, trying to speak to him and then kill him. Sora almost laughed as he realized that he was talking about Selphie's turtles. Riku and his turtle-phobia...who would have thought that. Sora smiled and patted Riku's arm, trying to calm him. And after a while, Riku calmed down and came back to his senses. He was motionless as he sat beside Sora. Sora felt uncomfortable now and wondered if he should say something. They were on a break....the problem was, what did this mean?  
  
Eventually, Riku rose and went to leave. Sora frowned and wanted to stop him but Riku cut him off.   
  
"Sora, give me one week." He lowered his head, letting his silver strands fall over his eyes. A small smile crept up his lips and he turned his head fully to face Sora.  
  
"One week. And don't forget our promise."  
  
Sora blinked but Riku jumped down too fast for him to stop him. He sat in confusion, wrinkling his forehead.   
  
"One week?"  
  
Riku decided that he really needed Selphie's help. Seeing Sora made him feel guilty and angry and he knew that he had to change if he wanted it to be all right again. He would force himself to be less jealous and obsessive. It had to be, for the sake of Sora.   
  
Walking back to Selphie's house, he was relieved to see Selphie, Tidus and Wakka in front of the house. There was no way he would go back in to see those monsters again.   
  
As the brunette saw Riku strolling towards them she pouted.   
  
"Fluffy! What did I tell you about Sora and Riku? You were supposed to take care of them while I'm gone!" She put her hands to her hips and huffed a little more just for the sake of it. Eventually she lost track of the topic and began to talk about squirrels in trenchcoats... or something like that.   
  
After she was done with her random story, she turned back to the actual topic. She smiled mischievously at Tidus and Wakka who were looking at her in fear.   
  
"So, we will now stage a situation that might happen between Sora and Kairi, or generally between Sora and someone else. Wakka will be Sora, and Tidus will be Kairi or another girl. And I'll be you!" Selphie explained as Tidus and Wakka stared in horror.   
  
"Hey! Why do I have to be the girl?!" Tidus complained, crossing his arms.   
  
Selphie giggled and kissed him on the cheek.   
  
"Because you're so cute. Besides, can you imagine Wakka as a girl? That'd be horrible! It's supposed to be believable!"  
  
Riku slapped his forehead as Tidus continued to complain. This was one hell of a lesson....  
  
When Selphie had finally persuaded the boys to act out the scene, she told Riku to stand at the side and watch.   
  
"Ok, action!" she called, pointing at Wakka and Tidus.   
  
The boys stood in awkward silence, looking at each other, then looking at the ground, and then back at each other. Selphie grinned and motioned them to go on. Tidus gave her a pleading look, but she didn't even seem to notice. Then, Wakka decided to make the first move.   
  
"Um, K-Kairi," he said, trying not to laugh as he called his best friend that. Tidus was more than humiliated by it and glared.   
  
"Yes...SORA..." he bit out in frustration. Selphie groaned and clapped her hands once.   
  
"Oh come, boys! It's not that hard! Just do some sweet talk and kiss!" She ran to them, pulling on their hands to get them closer to each other. Wakka and Tidus blushed, looking uncertain. Eventually, Selphie's comments and complaints got too much and Tidus decided to act.   
  
"Fine! So, there!" he yelled, reaching for Wakka's neck to pull him down for a kiss.   
  
Riku, who had closed his eyes while the others argued about the scene, opened them at once and stared at the two boys kissing. The strange thing was that it didn't even surprise him or that he thought it looked weird. No, Tidus and Wakka almost seemed cute when they kissed.   
  
Next to them Selphie squealed in delight. "Finally!" She bounced around, nodding at Riku to look at her.   
  
"Oh, what is it I'm seeing? Sora and Kairi? My boyfriend is kissing another girl! Ohh....." she made a dramatic pause, lowering her head as though she was hurt, but then snapped her head back up. "Awww but aren't they cute?! Soo *perfect* for each other!" she suddenly sang, bouncing around happily with her hands over her heart. Riku raised an eyebrow at her behavior. Was *this* supposed to be the way he should act when he saw Sora kissing Kairi?   
  
Selphie continued to rave in utter happiness, singing and squealing while Tidus and Wakka seemed deepen the kiss. Riku turned his attention to the boys and watched with a curious smile. He could see that they were enjoying it. He smirked.   
  
"I never knew you two were gay," Riku smugly commented and the boys tore apart from each other, looking shocked.   
  
Selphie giggled at their expressions and nudged Riku.   
  
"Aw see what you've done! You made them stop," she whined, giggling even more as Tidus turned a deep shade of red.   
  
"It wasn't that!" both he and Wakka exclaimed at the same time.   
  
They exchanged a look and shook their heads. Then, Tidus crossed his arms.   
  
"We were merely acting out the scene. It was supposed to be believable, right? So, there you had your scene!"  
  
Wakka nodded to Selphie and Riku who were currently grinning from ear to ear.   
  
"All right, all right," the girl eventually said. "Since you're so good actors, please repeat it."  
  
Tidus gaped but Selphie ignored it, turning to Riku.   
  
"And now that you've seen how you should act when this happens with Sora, try it! Imitate me at first, but be sure to get into the feeling so it goes with the flow in case you're caught off guard!"   
  
Riku laughed and shook his head. "You're not serious, are you? You want me to jump around and squeal like you?" He laughed again, waving her off in a dismissing motion.   
  
"Yes, exactly," Selphie sternly answered and Riku's eyes widened. He turned to her, staring in surprise.   
  
"Seriously?" he asked, scratching his head.   
  
The girl nodded. "Seriously," she repeated, looking directly into this eyes with a threatening glare. Riku gulped.   
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile Sora decided to finally confess what had happened to Kairi house. After the incident at the tree house he came back to Kairi, telling her about it. He told her that he didn't know what to do and that Riku was acting weird. However, he didn't tell her about what Riku had said before he left. Even though he didn't understand it, he didn't want to ask Kairi about it.   
  
And then, after he had poured his heart out to her, he confessed the story of the cursed house.  
  
"So, Selphie thought the only way to undo the curse is to blow it up...."   
  
Kairi nodded as though it was the most common thing and then she patted Sora's back.   
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's all right. She wouldn't have blown it up... I know Selphie." She smiled at him, but he couldn't help feeling strange when he saw her. She was still wearing his clothes and the hairstyle seemed to be a lousy imitation of his hair and her antics. It was just like she was copying him. But what for?  
  
"Let's go and look what happened," Kairi suddenly said, smiling brightly. She extended her hand and Sora took it, together walking to Kairi's house.   
  
As they reached the place, they blinked.   
  
"Did we go wrong?" Kairi asked, scratching her head.   
  
Sora was speechless and merely stared at the ruins and ashes. There was a piece of glass lying somewhere, probably a part of a window. Most of the things there, however, were ashes.   
  
"Um, no...this is...I mean, was, your house...I guess..." Sora stammered, staring at the ruins.   
  
Kairi frowned and cocked her head as if she was thinking over something.   
  
Then she smiled again and shrugged.   
  
"So Selphie did blow it up, huh? Oh well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it, right?"  
  
Sora's eyes snapped to meet hers and he gaped. "W-what?"  
  
The girl shrugged and crossed her arms behind her head, smiling up at the sky.   
  
"Not a big deal, really! But do you think I can live with you? I mean, you're used to living with someone since you've been living with Riku. And now that you're on a break, maybe I should take his place..." she trailed off, smiling contently.   
  
Sora frowned at her words and attempted to reply, but Kairi cut him off.   
  
"Don't worry, don't worry! I didn't mean that I want to replace him fully. I just meant, as long as you're on a break, I'll be here and care for you. As soon as you worked out your issues, you'll be fine with Riku. But until then...since I don't seem to have a home anymore...What do you think?"  
  
Her eyes held such a hopeful and pleading look that Sora couldn't resist. He could have sworn that she was using *his* 'I'm-too-adorable-for-my-own-good' look. But maybe he was just imagining things.   
  
"I guess that's okay..." he mumbled, scheming his own plan now. He didn't trust her completely, even though he was quite sure that she was honestly trying to help him. Maybe if they lived together he could find out what she was really thinking.  
  
Sora smiled. "Yup, you can definitely live with me!"   
  
He would find her secret, if she had one. He wasn't as naive as Riku thought, and he would prove it to him.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Damn... I meant to write a lot more for this chapter...but it would have gotten too much to read for one chapter so I guess I'll stop here and write the rest in the next chappy. It's not too sad, is it? I try to compensate the lack of SoraxRiku~ness with a little humor and slight TidusxWakka. I hope this is ok, ne? Sora and Riku *will* get together in time, don't worry, they just need to work out some things... like Sora proving that he is not a dumb little kid and Riku has to learn how to act like Selphie...ehh...or not. We'll see.   
  
PS: Turtles rule! ^-^ 


	47. Losing mind?

Author's Ranting: Tralalala next chapter! Is this already getting boring? I hope not! I still like to write this...  
  
Anyway for this chapter... this is again more humor than angst... I just *can't* write angst when it's about Sora and Riku. But the plot moved along in this chapter! Well, not much... but a little... ah, just read it already!  
  
Oh and what do I see?? OVER 1000 REVIEWS?!?! WOOOOW! And yes, yes, I do read all my reviews, of COURSE! And there are already more than 1000?????  
  
Wow. wow. wow. wow. That's....amazing....that's incredible!   
  
But guess what.   
  
I have something for you. Something goooooood! ^__^ As a little thank you for your interest in my story and for your patience when I don't update for ages... I have two little gifts for you.  
  
Go to my profile and find what out what I'm talking about ^.~  
  
~~~  
  
Sora and Kairi left the ruins of the old house.   
  
"Let's go look for the others! We'll tell them about what happened!" Kairi was completely too happy to be honest, but Sora wasn't sure whether he should really be suspicious. Something in him let him trust Kairi even though she was really acting weird.   
  
"Okay. But if Riku's there...." Sora trailed off, frowning in worry.   
  
Kairi patted him on the arm and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, just act like you're friends. Or acquaintances. You don't have to ignore each other totally... just make casual small talk or something. It's not like you hate each other, you just stop being in a relationship, you know?"  
  
Sora's face lit up. So *that's* what a break was. They were allowed to be around each other. Sora could feel his mood raise and he smiled.   
  
"All right! Let's go find the others!"  
  
~~  
  
Tidus and Wakka refused to kiss again and Selphie went rabid, yelling about friendship and that they were supposed to help their friends even if it meant doing something they didn't want to. Tidus was blushing all the time, for it was highly embarrassing for him. Wakka didn't seem to be offended but he refused, too.   
  
"Oh come on!" Selphie whined, pulling on Tidus's arm. The blonde shook his head. Riku sighed and thought of getting away before Selphie had even more ridiculous ideas. He admitted that he needed her help, but this was not the kind of help he had expected.  
  
"Don't even think about it, we're not done yet!" Selphie yelled as Riku was trying to sneak away. The silver haired boy flinched and turned his head to see that Selphie wasn't even looking at him. How did she notice that he wanted to flee? He sighed and stayed, waiting for the others' argument to stop.   
  
Eventually, Selphie gave in and promised to act with Tidus, so he didn't have to kiss Wakka anymore. Wakka gave Tidus one last sympathetic look and quickly ran away before the yellow clad girl had another insane idea.   
  
"All righty! I'm Kairi, you're Sora, and you're you, Fluffy!" She grinned as Riku glared when he heard his nickname.   
  
"Stop calling me Fluffy, you yellow creature of candy hell!"   
  
Selphie giggled and bounced up and down. "Cool! Yellow creature of candy hell! But I think Yellow QUEEN of candy hell is even better! Yay that's my new name!" She giggled even more, dreaming about her own kingdom full of candies until Tidus tugged on her arm.  
  
"Your highness..." he muttered and Selphie snapped out of it.   
  
"Huh? Oh right! Lord Fluffy Tail, do as I showed you before!"  
  
After saying that, she turned to Tidus with a smile and hugged him before they started to kiss. Riku noted that they looked cute, too, but not much cuter than Wakka and Tidus. He stood there for a moment, watching them with little interest until Selphie broke away to scowl at him.  
  
"Fluffy!" she called, and he scowled right back at her. "Remember! I'm Kairi, I'm kissing your Sora! I'm a boyfriend-stealing witch! How do you react?" She kissed Tidus again, watching Riku from the corner of her eyes.   
  
The silver haired boy narrowed his eyes and tried to imagine Kairi and Sora being here instead of Selphie and Tidus. Luckily, his imagination wasn't too vivid and he couldn't manage to really get the feeling of the situation because if he could, Selphie might have been dead by now. There was no way he could act like Selphie when it was about Sora and Kairi. Well, there was no way he could act like Selphie, period.   
  
But the brunette insisted on it and threatened to squeal in her most high-pitched voice if he didn't imitate what she had done before.   
  
"Now, see, I'm Kairi, he's Sora, we're kissing, and youuuuu....."  
  
Riku crossed his arms stubbornly, refusing to make a fool of himself by bouncing around like Selphie.   
  
"AND YOU, Lord Fluffy Tail?!" Selphie shouted, forcing Riku to cover his ears with his hands.   
  
"All right, all right..." he muttered, clearing his throat.   
  
~~  
  
In the meantime, Sora and Kairi began to walk and eventually bumped into Wakka who was just fleeing from Selphie.   
  
"Hey, Wakka," Kairi greeted him, smiling sweetly. Wakka nodded at her, too confused by her appearance to do anything else. He was staring at her, at her hair and clothes, and then he shook his head, looking at Sora.   
  
Sora nodded at him, either to greet him or to tell him that he had noticed the change in Kairi, it wasn't clear.   
  
"So, where are the others? We wanted to tell them that Kairi's house is now a heap of ashes..." Sora said, and Kairi sighed. Wakka's eyes widened and he gaped.   
  
"Really?! But...but we've stopped Selphie from blowing it up, ya! We hid the dynamite and she promised not to use it!" Of course, everyone knew that Selphie had her methods. Sora nodded.   
  
"She didn't blow it up. I think she's set a fire. It looks like it's burned down, not exploded."  
  
The boys frowned and stood in silence.   
  
Suddenly, Kairi piped up. "Well, at least the curse is gone now, right? Let's be positive! I'll live with Sora until we've found a solution!"  
  
Wakka gave Sora a look as if to say 'something's really wrong with her' and Sora simply nodded.   
  
"Let's find Selphie and the others," he then suggested and Wakka sighed. He didn't want to go back to the crazed girl, but Sora and Kairi insisted...  
  
~~  
  
Riku took a deep breath and closed his eyes for an instant. When he opened them again, he saw Tidus and Selphie looking expectantly at him. He sighed, shaking his head at his own bad luck. 'Might as well make a total idiot of myself...' he thought to himself as he got ready to act like Selphie.   
  
"Oh, what am I seeing here? Kairi and Sora kissing?!" he began, raising his voice melodramatically. Selphie grinned and nodded eagerly.   
  
"Good, good!" she assured him, gesturing him to go on.   
  
Riku rolled his eyes and clenched his teeth. He was about to shake his head and walk away, but Selphie looked at him with a threatening glint in her eyes.   
  
"Go on, Fluffy! We're kissing, we're deceiving you! But what do you do about it?"  
  
Riku growled and forced himself to stop trembling. This was embarrassing and Selphie was almost managing to get the idea of Sora and Kairi kissing into his head like it was real.   
  
"My boyfriend is kissing another girl, but I don't mind...because.." he took a deep breath. "Because Awwww! Aren't they just soo cute together?" He imitated Selphie a little too well, for it sounded scary as he raised his voice to squeal like her. Selphie laughed and Tidus covered his ears at the sound. Riku should *not* squeal.   
  
The silver haired boy forced himself, or rather it was Selphie's mad look that forced him, to jump up and down as though he had got too much caffeine and he began to ramble about what a perfect pair Kairi and Sora were. Most of it were things he had been thinking while the two had been a couple. Of course he had meant those things in a sarcastic way, like 'the princess and her prince' or Kairi being Sora's light. He had always said and thought those things while inside his heart he was bitter.   
  
Now, however, he used it to make Selphie happy, and to make her stop threatening him. She was laughing so hard that she had to hold her stomach and Tidus covered his mouth with his hands to stop laughing. He knew how embarrassing this was for Riku. Riku went on, getting too caught up in fooling around to notice who had come to watch them.  
  
Sora stared at the scene before him with a mixture of confusion, amusement and more confusion in his eyes. Kairi had almost the same look. Wakka slapped his forehead and mumbled something about "Now she made him go insane, too...."  
  
Riku was now overly hyper, a perfect copy of Selphie, and shouted things like "I want Sora and Kairi to be happy forever!" He shouted those things out of frustration, because every time he said something like this, it felt like someone kicked his heart. It was painful but he didn't stop it. Maybe because he felt like he deserved the pain.   
  
Sora heard those things and watched Riku, frowning with every word he said. Had he completely lost his mind? Was that what happened when they weren't together? He shook his head. He wanted Riku to stop this. First he was blabbing about green, sluggish monsters and now he was a Selphie clone. This couldn't go on.   
  
But before he could act, Kairi was there and went to Riku, stopping his ravings.   
  
"Riku!" she called, smiling at him. The silver haired boy jerked away and stared wide-eyed at the others. He opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't. Kairi was still smiling at him and he looked at her in shock and embarrassment.   
  
The real embarrassment, however, came as he turned his eyes to Sora. Their gazes met and they looked at each other, ignoring their surroundings. Riku felt that Sora wanted to say something. What it was, he didn't know.   
  
"I have an idea!" Kairi suddenly beamed, startling both Riku and Sora. The boys turned their attention to her and Kairi sighed, shaking her head in disapproval.   
  
"Riku, I think you really need someone around you. Look at what happens when you're alone," she scolded, patting his cheek. Riku frowned at her.   
  
Sora frowned, too, wondering what Kairi was implying.   
  
The girl turned to him just at that moment and looked sad for a moment.   
  
"Sora? I'm really sorry but I think... I think Riku needs me more than you. While you're on a break, he's going to be completely alone, and look what happened! I think you can handle the situation much better than he can, what do you think?"  
  
Kairi's words had an impact on Sora, though not the one it should have had. Sora felt hurt but not because Kairi wasn't going to stay with him. He felt hurt because Kairi was staying with Riku which meant that those two would probably get closer...which then again meant that Riku might like her too much once he accepted her...   
  
Sora shook his head at his own thoughts. He complained about Riku being paranoid and over possessive? Then what was he just thinking? He was doing exactly the same. He was just as jealous as Riku.   
  
Kairi nodded and turned back to Riku.  
  
"I'll stay with you, ok? I know we've been through a lot... I hated you, you hated me, I said I had a crush on you, you hated me... but I really want to be friends with you again. I want you and Sora to be happy, so it's important to find out what's wrong between you. When you managed to get it straight, you can be together again, don't you think?"  
  
Sora blinked. This actually made sense. It almost seemed like Kairi wasn't scheming anything evil. Maybe she was *really* helping them.   
  
Selphie was suspicious but kept her ideas to herself at the moment. Tidus was busy avoiding Wakka's eyes, for he felt utterly embarrassed about the kiss before. Wakka was watching Kairi and Riku.   
  
"I suppose..you're right..." Riku eventually mumbled, looking down at the ground.   
  
Sora opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by Kairi.  
  
"All right! I'm going to take care of you so you don't do anything stupid! We'll see how to work on your issues!" She hugged him, and Riku sighed.   
  
'Might as well accept her help...if I want Sora back, I have to accept her... I have to show him that I *can* get along with her, that I'm not overly jealous... I will make it...In one week, we'll be together again, I'm sure. I'll be just what he wants....'  
  
Sora dropped his gaze and looked down, his bangs covering his eyes that were burning with anger.   
  
"Well, fine. Have fun, then," he muttered, turning around to leave. He could find out what Kairi was scheming without living with her, even if it meant he had to spy on them. But something was really fishy about this all, and Sora was going to reveal the truth.   
  
He left without another word.  
  
Riku watched him in concern, not sure what to do, but Kairi turned his attention back to herself.   
  
"Let's go somewhere to talk. I've heard Sora's version of your problems, now it's time for your side of the story." She gave him a smile and reached out to stroke over his hair. Selphie frowned and shook her head.   
  
"This is wrong..." she whispered to herself.   
  
Riku forced himself to let her continue and eventually went ahead, letting Kairi follow. He hated the mere presence of Kairi, but for Sora, for Sora he would stand her and at least pretend to like her. He would have to learn not to be jealous.   
  
As they walked away, Selphie plopped down on the ground, crossing her legs.   
  
"This is so wrong. Kairi and Riku together...and she's a Sora clone... this is...." Her eyes widened at the realization.  
  
"No...that can't be. She wouldn't...."   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: She wouldn't, would she? Do you know what Selphie's thinking? It's obvious, ne? Kairi wouldn't really do that, now would she?  
  
But wouldn't that fit perfectly into her psychotic behavior?? OH DAMN, she WOULD and she WILL do it. She's obsessive, all right...   
  
And please note that this Kairi has nothing to do with the Kairi in the game. I can't help but say it again, my Kairi is OOC, alright. She's just a plot device...you know, the everlasting evil force, causing trouble for our sweet couple. XD  
  
Oh and don't forget to check out my gifts for you, you know you can find them in my profile! ^^ 


	48. SuperSpecialNinjaSpyingTechnique

Author's Ranting: Chillo to all you people! Still here? Anyone? *crickets chirp*  
  
all right...   
  
It's been a while, ne? Like, a MONTH! that's gotta be the longest break I ever took from writing....do you even remember me??   
  
*crickets chirp again*  
  
all right I get it... So....for everyone who's still with me here.... CHAPTER 48! Yup, really. I'm serious. I did it. Ain't I just great?   
  
*crickets chirp yet again*  
  
Ehem.... okkei...well, I'll stop rambling. If you want the explanation to why I didn't update for so long.. it's easy. NO TIME. Really, there's been so much going on, my life's a rollercoaster as I said before and, yeah, fanfics seem to get ignored when I'm busy. I'm sorry. I really am.   
  
But enough with my ranting now. Here's the chapter!   
  
Kairi's trying to be like Sora and now she lives with Riku! Sora wants to take a break from the break! Selphie uses her superspecialninjaspyingtechnique!  
  
Be ready for another episode of the never-ending soap opera!  
  
~~~  
  
"Hmpf." Sora lay in his bed, arms crossed behind his head, kicking the blanket at his feet. He had to somehow contain his energy, so beating his pillow and blanket seemed a good idea. What the hell was wrong with Riku?   
  
He replayed the scene before, when Riku had accepted Kairi's help and even let her hug him. It was weird. He would have never thought that Riku would do something like this. Maybe he didn't know his friend as well as he thought he did? And what was up with Kairi? Sora couldn't decide whether she was an evil maniac trying to steal his boyfriend, or if she had changed back into the nice and loving friend, wanting to help. Sora just couldn't decide.   
  
"I can't really go and spy on them...that'd be rude..." Sora muttered to himself, pouting in thought. What was he supposed to do then? Let everything be? Be friends with Riku but nothing more as long as they were on a break? Then again, how long was this break supposed to be? Couldn't they just stop this right now?   
  
Sora sighed. Thinking about all that gave him a headache. He snorted, knocking on his head. "Stupid brain, stop complaining and get to work!" he ordered, knowing how utterly childish he was being. But he couldn't help it. If Riku had been around he would have surely smirked and shaken his head. Sora could almost see the silver haired boy sitting beside him, giving him that superior smile.   
  
Heaving a long sigh, Sora closed his eyes and tried to think once again. The wheels in his brains turned...  
  
"Of course!"   
  
Sora had an idea.  
  
He smiled brightly as this thought entered his mind. Since when was Sora overly thoughtful and analyzing? Didn't he always act out of pure gut feeling and naiveté? Wasn't that also what Riku loved about him? Then why not use it?  
  
Sora nodded to himself and sat up. He would just go to Riku, knock on his door, wait for him to open, pounce him, give him his best puppy look and ask if they could just stop being on a break. Riku could *not* refuse this, could he? Sora believed in Riku and his impatience. He knew that Riku loved him, so he was probably dying right now.   
  
Sora smirked. Somehow this brought him to another idea. Why not turn it into a game? They had gotten together so quickly, they never had a chance to play hard to get. The brunette had a devious smile on his lips as he left his room. In his mind, he had made a plan, saying something like this:   
  
1. Use utter cuteness to get Riku desperate  
  
2. Leave when he's about to melt  
  
3. Pretend to be friends but use all available cuteness to make him go wild  
  
Sora snickered gleefully at his plan. It would be fun to see Riku's reactions. Of course, Sora was not afraid of losing Riku. There was absolutely no chance that Riku would break up seriously, right? Kairi would never stand a chance, and the rest of the gang would never even think about getting together with Riku. So, no problem!  
  
~~  
  
Meanwhile Selphie came back from her basement.   
  
"Phew. This stuff is sure heavy..." she complained as she pulled a giant bag with her. In this bag was her spying equipment, because unlike Sora, Selphie didn't think of it as rude to spy on people. She was dressed completely in black, her hair tied back and she was wearing black gloves. She almost looked like a ninja.   
  
Of course, the girl didn't realize that wearing black clothes on a white sandy beach was not a very good camouflage.   
  
Ignoring this, she bounced towards Riku's house, thinking that the two teens had gone there. When she got there, however, she found that it was empty.   
  
"What?! But *where* did they go?" Selphie looked around, trying to look inconspicuous. Something in the bag suddenly moved and out came a green thing. Selphie turned around to see her turtle Riku crawling out of the bag, lazy as ever.   
  
"Ha? Riku? What are *you* doing here?" She quickly ran toward her pet and picked it up, patting its head. "Have you seen Kairi and Lord Fluffy Tail?"   
  
The turtle ignored her question since it didn't understand, and looked at something to the right. Selphie turned her head to see what the turtle was looking at and there she saw another turtle.   
  
"Who's this?" The girl asked, pointing at the new turtle. It was obvious to her that this wasn't her 'Sora'. 'Sora' was smaller than 'Riku' but it wasn't that small.   
  
Selphie looked at 'Riku', waiting for an answer. The turtle, however, didn't move one bit. She sighed in frustration and turned back to the other turtle.   
  
"You look like a girl. And you look evil. I'm sure your name is Kairi," she then said, grinning suddenly. The turtle seemed to back away as Selphie advanced towards it, taking it into her arms along with 'Riku'.   
  
"So I found turtle Riku and turtle Kairi. Great, now I have to find the *real ones*!" She looked at her pets and raised her eyebrows as a thought entered her mind. She grinned. If she found another three turtles she could make the whole gang into turtles! There would be a Tidus turtle, a Wakka turtle, a Kairi turtle, a Sora turtle, a Riku turtle and of course the great Selphie turtle!   
  
The girl giggled at the thought and imagined a bunch of turtles wearing their clothes, carrying around banners with their names on them.   
  
As soon as the thought of banners entered her mind, the whole idea turned into something else and soon, Selphie's mind was a firework of crazy ideas - as usual. Her chaotic mind, however, was disturbed as she heard a voice. Her ears perked up.  
  
"Let's go eat something! You do have ice cream in your house, don't you? I'm huuungry!"  
  
Selphie's brows were knitted together as she heard the words. It sounded a lot like Sora, but the voice was different. It sounded too girlish. It sounded too...  
  
"Kairi," Riku muttered, rubbing his forehead.   
  
Selphie jolted and whipped around to see Riku and Kairi, the real ones this time, walking up to the house. Quickly, she stuffed the two turtles into the bag and pulled it away as she ran to hide. She couldn't allow them to see her while she was using her superspecialninjaspyingtechnique.   
  
"Come on, Riku! Hey, do you wanna play some video games?" Kairi smiled brightly at the silver haired boy as she hopped beside him like a little kid. Riku had a frown and the vein on his forehead seemed to pop up. Kairi was sure annoying him right now.  
  
"I have ice cream at home. And I'll give it to you if you promise me to shut up," he casually replied, cursing himself for this remark. He wanted to be open for Kairi, to let her help him since he wanted to be the perfect boyfriend for Sora. But on the other hand, Kairi was simply the most annoying brat ever, especially now. Why the hell was she acting so utterly childish?   
  
He blinked as he realized that he had said the last sentence aloud. He turned to look at Kairi, who was pouting at him in a very childish way, her arms crossed over her chest. Riku narrowed his eyes, seeing Sora as he looked at the girl. The hair, the clothes, she reminded him completely of Sora. But the face was different. The eyes and the pouting lips, they were totally different.   
  
He grunted and shrugged, walking ahead to open the door. Kairi bounced after him, standing on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Riku flinched slightly as he felt Kairi's head lay on his shoulder and he was tempted to push it away, but he remained motionless, letting her do what she wanted.   
  
He twisted the doorknob and opened the door, walking in quickly as Kairi's head slid off his shoulder. As soon as they got in, Kairi ran to the couch and threw herself on it, lying spread across the cushions. Riku blinked, again seeing the vision of Sora lying there with a content smile on his lips. He shook his head and saw that Kairi was smiling at him just like he imagined Sora to smile. The only thing was that it seemed so wrong. It didn't fit Kairi at all.   
  
The girl suddenly sat up and crossed her arms. "Hey you know what? I'll make us a sundae okay?" She smiled sweetly and got up, walking towards the kitchen. Riku frowned and balled his hand to a fist. Should he trust Kairi with this? Who knew what she would do in the kitchen...on the other hand, Sora was very clumsy whereas Kairi could handle something easy like this. She wouldn't turn the kitchen into a mess, like Sora.   
  
He sighed and shrugged, deciding to sit down on the couch. "Might as well trust the girl. She can't be as clumsy as Sora..." he muttered, smiling at the thought of Sora trying to make tea for him. He ended up with a bump on his head and a few bruises, complaining about evil dishes jumping him. Riku even laughed at the thought and then he heaved a sigh, wondering what Sora was doing right now.   
  
A flash of black rushed across the window and Riku twitched slightly. He hadn't really seen it but he had felt it. Something had just moved at the window. He turned to look, but there was nothing. He frowned but then shrugged it off.   
  
Outside, Selphie was crouching under the window, pressing her superspecialninjahearingdevice (a glass) against the wall so she could listen to what was going on inside.   
  
A crash was audible in the kitchen and Riku jolted up in surprise.   
  
"Owee..." he heard someone whine and it almost sounded like Sora to him. A little something called hope came up in him as the back of his mind told him that Sora was in the kitchen, messing around with something. But then he reminded himself that Kairi was there and he frowned, walking to her as he heard another bump.   
  
When he got into the kitchen, he stared. He blinked. Then he stared again. He set his jaw and closed his eyes. The vein on his forehead was showing again and his brows furrowed together.   
  
"What exactly are you doing?" he uttered in a low voice.   
  
Kairi sat on the floor, the ice cream all around her, a broken glass next to her. Riku opened his eyes and Kairi looked at him from beneath her eyelashes.   
  
"Um, sorry? I was just trying to make this sundae but it kinda slipped off my hand and I, um..." she tried the puppy eye look on him and bowed her head.   
  
Riku heaved a sigh and grumbled something unintelligible before he shook his head. "All right. Get into the living room and I'll clean this mess. Just be sure not to destroy anything." He helped the girl up and gave her a light shove into the direction of the door. Kairi smiled a little sheepishly and shrugged.   
  
"Sorry," she quietly said, again trying to look cute. It almost worked on Riku and he waved his hand in a dismissing motion.  
  
"Just go."   
  
She nodded and left while Riku began to clean the floor. Kairi was sure acting strange. Since when was she so clumsy? He sighed, more than a little frustrated with her strange behavior. The thought of Sora wouldn't leave his mind, and the strange feeling of being watched made him feel a little paranoid.   
  
When he came back, Kairi was sitting on the couch, holding a pillow in her hand. Riku said down beside her, staring at nothing in particular. After a few minutes of silence, Kairi threw the pillow at Riku, hitting him in the face.   
  
The silver haired boy gasped and spun around to face her. "What the hell was that for?!" he called, annoyed by the gesture. Kairi grinned in a very Sora~ish way and crossed her arms behind her head.   
  
"Come on, throw it back," she offered, "if you dare," she then added, grinning in a challenging way. Riku's pride was immediately activated by these words and he snorted, taking the pillow into his hand.  
  
"I don't like fighting girls, but you asked for it," he growled, finding it somehow amusing that he was fighting Kairi. The girl smirked and took another pillow, ready to fight for her life.   
  
"Come on, attack me," she challenged and Riku narrowed his eyes. The first strike was only lightly and very soft since Riku didn't want to hurt Kairi, even if it was just a pillow. The second blow, however, was more forceful and they eventually began to fight for real. Laughter began to spread and the whole room was filled by laughing voices and the sounds of pillows bumping.   
  
Selphie wrinkled her nose as she heard that. It sounded very weird to her since she couldn't see what was going on. She decided to take a look at the window, slowly moving upwards until her eyes could see through the glass.  
  
Here they were, beating each other with pillows, laughing while doing so. Selphie watched in confusion and scratched her head. She had to duck again when Riku suddenly stopped. He made a motion with his hand, signaling Kairi to stop and then he looked at the window, narrowing his eyes at it. Something was wrong. He could feel it again.   
  
"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, leaning closer to Riku to see what he was looking at. Riku tried to back away but the feeling of being watched was stronger. He carefully examined the window, studying every movement the outside surroundings made. There was nothing.   
  
He sighed. He turned back to Kairi and threw the pillow away. "Let's stop for now...I don't feel like pillow fighting anymore..."  
  
Kairi cocked her head in an adorable way and then pouted slightly. "Okay...." she murmured, putting the pillows back in place. Riku leaned back, closing his eyes to concentrate. He was sure that someone was watching, if he could just figure out who and where this person was. Kairi sat beside him, her feet dangling from the couch. Her hands were resting in her lap and she hummed quietly to herself.   
  
"You know what?" she suddenly piped up, looking at Riku with big, sparkling eyes. Riku wasn't sure whether to think of it as cute or scary.   
  
"What?" he replied, still pondering over the fact that Kairi was so totally different from the girl he knew.   
  
"I'm gonna get myself a blanket or something and then I'll make this couch a bed. I'm staying with you and I'm pretty sure you don't want me to stay in your room, right?"   
  
Riku was surprised by the reasonable tone in her voice and simply nodded, only before realizing that it was probably a little rude to do this. Kairi smiled and got up, intending to look for a blanket when Riku stopped her.   
  
"No, wait. We're kind of in your debt... I mean, Sora and I... Selphie burned down your house and it's kind of our fault. So, you get the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."  
  
He mentally patted himself on the back. 'Good, Riku,' he told himself 'You're making progress. Be nice to Kairi and get over your paranoia and jealousy.'  
  
Kairi blushed a little and smiled shyly. "Are you sure?" she quietly asked, moving her head so that some of her hair covered her eyes.   
  
Riku nodded once. She then smiled brightly and bent down to give him a hug, surprising Riku, but he didn't push away. She let go off him soon enough and waved as she left for the bedroom.  
  
"Oh, wait!" Riku suddenly called, stopping her from entering the room. Kairi turned around, tilting her head slightly.  
  
"Yup?" she asked, sounding exactly like Sora this time.   
  
A shiver ran down Riku's spine and his breath hitched for a second. Then he regained his calm and smirked cooly.   
  
"You get the room under one condition," he began, nodding at her. "Make your hair the way it was. That new hairstyle doesn't fit you at all."  
  
Kairi's face fell for a moment and she looked sad, almost hurt. Riku felt bad for this comment but it was the truth. He couldn't look at her when she had this bad immitation of Sora's hairstyle.  
  
Then he remembered that he was supposed to be nice to Kairi since she didn't seem all that evil anymore. And Sora would be oh so proud of him if he managed to get his bad temper under control.   
  
"You looked cute enough with your old hairstyle, really. Keep it that way, for me please?"   
  
Kairi's eyes snapped up to meet his and a small smile crept up her lips. Her lower lip was quivering slightly and Riku almost feared she was going to cry.   
  
Kairi nodded and brushed over her hair. "All right. I'll get my hair back to normal. Thanks," she replied, shrugging before she turned to enter the room.  
  
As she was gone, Riku inhaled deeply. He couldn't quite decide whether Kairi was annoying him or not. On minute she drove him nearly retarded with her weird behavior and the next minute she was kind of cute. She also reminded him a lot of Sora, which was another problem. Was it good? Riku thought that he could maybe endure this Sora-less time better if he had someone similar. But then again, it drove him crazy to have someone similar to Sora but not the original.   
  
No one could ever change places with Sora. The boy was just too adorable, too perfect and too lovable. Riku leaned back on the couch, having a lovestruck expression on his face as his mind drifted to his beloved friend.   
  
~~  
  
Sora looked at himself in the mirror, pouting slightly as he suddenly began to hiccup. He frowned.   
  
"Someone's thinking of me..." he murmured, pouting even more. He watched his facial expressions carefully, wondering why Riku always said he looked cute. He didn't think he looked cute when he pouted. He hiccuped again and decided to drink water to make it go away. If Riku had been there, they could have tried to kiss it away like last time... He smiled slightly at the memory.   
  
"Riku..." he murmured, trying to stay patient. He examined his face again, wondering how this childish face could be liked by Riku. He looked like a baby.  
  
Sora shrugged. "Doesn't matter. If that's the way I can get Riku back..." He smiled and reran his current plan. Phase 1: Find Riku and intoxicate him with   
  
cuteness. This was going to be fun and he couldn't wait to see Riku again. To feel him. And to play a little with him. Riku would hopefully get the meaning of this game and play along. And then, when they would be finally back together, Sora would continue to claim his place on top.   
  
He grinned.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Cliffhanger? Nah, not really, is it? Well, well... Riku's not going to last if Kairi continues to play Sora. His nerves are not going to stand this utter clumsiness of the girl...cause no matter what she does, Kairi can NOT be as cute as Sora. Right? Right!   
  
And if I manage to get sugar high, the next chapter will be bringing you toothache because Sora is going to use all his kawaiiness to drive Riku insane. XD  
  
So be sure to stay tuned! I hope it won't take another month for this chapter! I hope it will never ever take SO LONG for my fics to update!  
  
See ya, okay? Chilloooo! ^_^ 


	49. Why is it I can't say sorry?

Author's Ranting: no I'm not even going to mention how long I haven't updated. I feel so ashamed.  
  
But after a long break here's the new chapter, yay! I hope you're all happy now cause I definitely am!   
  
However, I'm totally doomed, for I haven't done any of my studying or housework which I was supposed to do. *sighs* See what SoraxRiku~ness can do to a person?   
  
Anywayz, here goes the chapter!  
  
~~~  
  
It turned evening and Riku was half dozing off on the couch, daydreaming about his beloved Sora. He had thought about saying sorry, begging for forgiveness, begging Sora to take him back, to give him another chance. He wanted to promise that he wouldn't be jealous anymore, promise that Sora would never have to be upset because of him. But all this remained in his head because his pride wouldn't let him do it. He would wait until Sora came to him by himself and said that their break was over.  
  
"I'm going to sleep now."  
  
The silver haired boy opened his eyes and sat up from the couch, tilting his head to look at the person who was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.  
  
Kairi was back to normal. Her hair was the way it had always been and she was wearing a pair of pink pajamas. Riku raised an eyebrow and wondered where she got the clothes and Kairi smiled to his unspoken question.  
  
"Remember the one time when Sora got sick while staying at my house? He was wearing my pajamas because he had thrown up over his own and we went to you because he wanted to see you."  
  
Riku wrinkled his forehead and thought of the evening when this happened. He remembered, but it had been a long time ago and he hadn't thought that Kairi would remember this night. It was back then, when they had been friends, all three of them, and Riku remembered clearly how he teased Sora for the pink sleepwear.   
  
He suddenly grinned and imagined making Sora wear them again. Kairi sighed and rubbed her eyes.   
  
"Well, seemingly he left the PJs here, I found them in a drawer."  
  
Riku's grin faded instantly as he narrowed his eyes. 'What the hell is this girl doing with my drawers?!' he inwardly screamed but then he remembered that he had to be nice and try to see the good in Kairi. So he shrugged it off, ignoring the tiny voice in him that told him to kill the girl and throw her remains into the ocean. If he threw her far enough, she'd be carried off by the waves and no one would ever find her.   
  
But, he ignored this voice and nodded to show his acknowledgement. The auburn haired girl smiled sleepily and waved lazily as she turned.   
  
"Goodnight, Riku. Thank you for being so nice to me, and I'm sure Sora and you will be together in no time," she murmured, vanishing into the room before she shut the door.   
  
A few minutes passed and Riku simply stared at the door to his room, thinking over the fact that Kairi was sleeping in his bed. His train of thoughts, however, was disturbed as suddenly someone knocked on his door. He flinched slightly and immediately turned his head to the window, remembering that he had had the feeling of being watched. Maybe the stalker was showing himself now at the door?  
  
He waited for a while, pondering over the fact whether he should open the door or not. He wasn't really in the mood for talking to someone, and what if it was Selphie with some crazy idea? He definitely had enough of Selphie for now.  
  
There was another knock, only lightly, tentatively and Riku decided to open the door anyway. He took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and twisted the doorknob. The door slowly swung open and revealed a sight that took Riku's breath away. His eyes widened and his heart seemed to beat a thousand times faster, he started to shake and he began to feel cold and hot at the same time.   
  
"Wha--what--what the..." he stammered, cursing himself for being so overly surprised.   
  
But this was SORA.   
  
"Um, am I interrupting something? I really don't want to be bothering you..." the brunette shyly murmured, looking up at Riku with his big, innocent blue eyes. Riku gulped and licked his dry lips, cursing himself for being unable to say anything. He reached out a trembling hand to touch Sora's arm, just to make sure he wasn't imagining the boy.   
  
Sora looked at the hand in a confused way - confused and utterly adorable that Riku bit his lip as hard as he could. 'If this is a dream,' Riku thought, 'please let me sleep forever!'  
  
  
  
"I never ever want to wake up!" Riku shouted, not even realizing that he voiced his last thought.  
  
Sora raised his eyebrows in surprise and scratched his head, reaching out his hand to feel Riku's forehead.   
  
"Huh? You don't want to wake up? Are you sleeping? I never knew you were a sleepwalker!" Sora grinned adorably and lightly ruffled Riku's hair, more than satisfied with the reaction he got out of the silver haired boy.   
  
'So far so good,' he thought, reminding himself of his mastermind plan.   
  
Riku's head was swimming by the time Sora took his hand and invited himself to sit on the couch. The silver haired boy was confused, shocked, happy and scared at the same time.   
  
Why was Sora here after breaking up? No, wait, they hadn't broken up, just gone on a break. Nevertheless, Riku was shocked. Why did Sora turn up right now? Just like this? And why did he seem to be even cuter than usual? Of course he was more than happy, he was ecstatic, it was SORA with whom he was currently sitting on the couch. But that also scared him. What would he say? What was going to happen between them now?  
  
"I missed your house," Sora offered as he saw the confused look on Riku's face.   
  
The silver haired boy raised his eyebrows, drew them together and frowned, and then he blinked, before he began to chuckle.   
  
"Oh, so that was all, huh?" he retorted, slowly but surely gathering his wits.   
  
Sora grinned his patented Sora-grin, which Kairi would never ever be able to copy, and shrugged before he grabbed Riku's arm to cuddle with it. Riku blushed at the feeling of Sora's face nuzzling his arm, the contact felt like summer rain showering over him. It was heaven, even better than he had their shared moments in memory. It seemed as though the separation had made the moments of being together even more precious than they had been.   
  
Sora sighed and placed a soft kiss on Riku's upper arm.   
  
"Okay, so I missed more than just the house," he murmured against the pale skin, pegging it with his lips a few times before pulling away. He sat back next to Riku and straightened himself, looking at his friend with a serene expression.   
  
Riku suddenly felt relaxed and content, too, just by having Sora sitting next to him. Their eyes met and the silver haired boy found himself blushing yet again, wondering when he had turned into blushing schoolgirl. He quickly looked down, staring at his lap to avoid even more eye contact with Sora because it would lead to a very embarrassing blush.   
  
Sora smiled to himself and yawned cutely, rubbing the back of his head in a slightly annoyed way. This caused Riku to look at him again and he had to smile at the sight. Sora wrinkled his nose and rubbed his eyes, then shook his head a few times before he brushed the bangs out of his face.   
  
"Mmmhh I'm so tired and if it weren't for you I'd be sleeping like a baby now," he quietly murmured, rubbing his cheeks as he pouted in a way only he could do.   
  
"But I had to see you...couldn't sleep..." he added, looking at Riku from beneath his eyelashes.  
  
Riku's heart ached with longing but the fear of doing something hasty and wrong stopped him from locking his beloved friend in a tight embrace. He knew that he would never be able to let him go once he had him in his arms.   
  
Sora saw the indecisive expression on Riku's face and he inwardly nodded, feeling exactly the same.   
  
A few minutes passed but the awkwardness of the situation didn't fade. The boys sat on the couch, both tired, both nervous, both full of longing. Neither of them dared to make to first move, though. They *were* still on a break, weren't they?   
  
Sora reminded himself that Riku still had to work on his jealousy because sooner or later it would really drive him crazy. Riku was just too stubborn sometimes.   
  
"I can't say it," Riku suddenly muttered to himself, frowning in worry.   
  
Sora's head snapped up to his and he cocked his way in a puzzled way. "What?" He inched closer to Riku.   
  
The silver haired boy narrowed his eyes and continued to frown, not really answering Sora's question as he replied, "I don't know why. It just won't come out."  
  
Sora blinked, scratching his head in confusion. "Did I miss something?" he asked, more himself than Riku, as he crossed his arms in thought.   
  
Riku had a really worried and concentrated expression on his face and silence filled the room. Sora sat next to him, watching him with crossed arms, trying to figure out what Riku meant. What couldn't he say? What was he trying to say? There, here it was again. Riku could be so difficult sometimes! Not only that he was jealous like the worst ex-girlfriend, but he also always started with a topic and then left it just as it was without really saying what he was thinking about. Sure, Riku was more of a thinking type whereas Sora was more of a talker, but Riku could at least tell him what he was talking about.  
  
"Dammit!" Riku suddenly barked, startling Sora somewhat that he was almost a little scared. Riku's outburst was not something he'd expected.   
  
The silver haired boy bit his lip and started beating himself, literally. He was punching his head repeatedly, cursing himself, cursing the situation, making it seem as though he had completely lost his mind.   
  
Sora was tempted to back away but then he thought that all Riku needed was a little reassurance, a little comfort since he was blaming and beating himself for something right now.   
  
"Riku," Sora murmured, wondering if he should hug him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to let go once they had made contact.  
  
The silver haired boy cursed even more, pausing only to move his lips, trying to say something that wouldn't come out. Sora frowned as he pondered over what he was supposed to do but quickly shrugged and decided to follow his heart - like always.   
  
"Aww, here goes nothing!" And in a split of a second a pair of arms came flying around Riku's shoulders, crushing his body to Sora's. Hands soon found their way wandering over Riku's back as the arms around him tightened. At first, Riku was surprised, if not stunned, and didn't move. But as the long awaited feeling of familiar warmth invaded his body and soul, Riku wrapped his arms around the slightly smaller body.   
  
It felt like an explosion, the sudden heat that emitted from the two, every touch was a new explosion, one greater than the other. And they hadn't even kissed yet! Riku wondered what a kiss might do to him if a simple embrace could cause his mind to go wild. Seemingly, Sora was thinking the same and suddenly, their faces were only inches apart, lips almost, but not touching.  
  
Time stood still and they remained in the embrace, lips only one hairbreadth apart. Riku didn't know why, but it was so hard to lean in. There was something stopping him but he didn't know what.   
  
Sora was frozen in place. He was torn between the need to kiss Riku and the plan he had actually figured out. He wanted to make Riku desperate and fight for him and now he was as desperate as Riku, willing to fight anyone who'd stand between them. Somehow this hadn't really worked, had it?  
  
"...can't..." Riku whispered, trying to pull away. Sora made a protesting sound and snaked his arms around Riku's neck to pull him back.   
  
"What?" he probed, leaning in so that his forehead was touching Riku's. They gazed into each other's eyes and Sora drowned in the beauty of Riku's ocean-like orbs.   
  
"There's something I want to say to you...but I can't..." Riku whispered, sounding like a scared boy.   
  
Sora hummed and let his fingers play over his friend's neck, gently stroking him. What was it Riku wanted to say, Sora wondered.   
  
"Just say it," Sora answered, pulling Riku closer in one swift movement.   
  
'I'm sorry,' Riku thought, 'and I love you,' but no matter how often he thought the words, his voice wouldn't let him say them. But he wanted to say them so bad because it would prove how much Sora meant to him. Or so he thought.   
  
Of course, Riku had nothing to prove when it came to his love for Sora. The brunette knew that Riku loved him as much as he loved Riku, he didn't need words of reassurance. He just needed a little less jealousy, that was all he wanted. But self-loathing as Riku sometimes could be, he couldn't see that and felt like he had to prove his love in some way.   
  
The words remained unspoken and the boys stayed in the embrace for a little longer. Eventually, they shifted a little and Sora placed his head on Riku's shoulder, blowing his breath lightly onto Riku's neck as he tilted his head.   
  
"Kairi's here, isn't she?" he suddenly murmured. He felt Riku tense and for a moment he was worried that he had upset Riku with this question. Riku relaxed, though and sighed. A hand came up and found its way into Sora's hair, running through it, over and over again.   
  
"I'm really trying," Riku answered, remembering the mess Kairi had made in the kitchen. He knew that the urge to kill the girl wouldn't go away but he could at least control his actions now. He could pretend to be nice at least for Sora's sake, he hoped.   
  
Sora chuckled, tickling Riku's ear as he did so.   
  
"What?" Riku asked, a little annoyed and puzzled. Sora snickered and then placed a soft kiss on Riku's cheek.   
  
"Nothing. Just you."  
  
He then pulled away so that they could look into each others eyes and Sora grinned adorably as ever.   
  
Riku's features softened and he sighed, his hands coming up to cup Sora's cheeks. Again, he opened his mouth, moving his lips in an attempt to say that he was sorry, to say that he loved him, but it didn't work. Instead, he hung his head and sighed.   
  
Sora sighed, too and shook his head once.   
  
"I have to go now," he then said, smiling as he began to get up. Riku's eyes widened and he wanted to shake his head but something in Sora's smile stopped him. He looked so happy, it didn't look like a goodbye to him. More like an invitation to something. To what, was the question.   
  
"...because you should always go when it's the best, right?" Sora added, smiling even more.   
  
Riku narrowed his eyes. Sora seemed so playful and mischievous.   
  
"Right..." Riku slowly replied, only hesitantly letting go of Sora's hand as the other boy made his way to the door. Riku quickly stood up to follow him until they were standing at the door.   
  
"We're still on a break, just to tell you that," the brunette said in a serious voice. Riku nodded, frowning slightly. Then Sora grinned and leaned up to place short kiss on Riku's lips.   
  
"Goodnight."  
  
And as Riku stood there, staring at Sora's disappearing figure in some kind of trance, something made 'click' in Riku's head and a light bulb appeared over his head.   
  
A smirk made its way to his lips and he finally got the message Sora had sent.   
  
"Kitten wants to play...." he chuckled, suddenly feeling as though he was in paradise. All his worries were gone and the only thing in his mind was how to outdo Sora now. It was yet another competition. Which of them would give in first? Riku definitely wouldn't let Sora win this, his pride was far too big for that. Of course, Sora had a big advantage since he was the cutest and perfect being on this planet, but Riku was sure that he would find his methods to make Sora go crazy.   
  
And then, when Sora was completely devoted to him again, he would throw away his pride and say sorry for everything he'd done. He would be able to say it, he knew it.   
  
But for now, their little competition was on  
  
Riku smirked, already starting to think of a way to spoil his friend until he was nothing but a puddle of lovestruck Sora.  
  
This was going to be fun.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: ah...all right. didn't turn out quite as I imagined. Somehow the cuteness of Sora was a little lacking.... I think I had more of a sap moment right now. But I hope you still like it! Reviews are appreciated though I know I'm unworthy of your time and kind words. Lazy authors who don't update have deserved nothing -_- 


	50. Loveplay

Author's Ranting: Ha! Another chapter already!! But don't get used to it, I can't guarantee anything!   
  
Anywayz....competition is on! Sora's cuteness is undefeatable, but what about Riku? Will he be able to turn Sora into a puddle?   
  
We'll see! Let's gooooooooo! ^_^  
  
~~~  
  
Kairi lay awake in her bed, thinking over the events of the day. She was now living with her crush and even though she tried to be like Sora, he didn't seem interested at all. However, the fact that he said that she was cute enough with her old hairstyle made her feel giddy inside.   
  
"Maybe he'll start to like me! And then I'll completely replace Sora until there's no memory of him! I have to get rid of Sora...somehow..." she began to think and her sleepy mind made up a plan about tying Sora to a stone before throwing him into the ocean.   
  
"Nah....too...heavy..." she mumbled, half falling asleep. Her last thoughts were clouded memories of her and Sora together, when things had been so different. She would never feel that way for him again.   
  
"Stupid...Sor...." Her eyes fell shut and in no time she was dreaming.   
  
~~  
  
Selphie was back at her house and unpacked the stuff in her giant bag.   
  
"Turns out I didn't need any of this..." she muttered to one of three turtles on her bed. She now had Riku, Sora and Kairi as turtles.   
  
"Tee-hee, only three left! I gotta find more turtles to make up our gang!"   
  
Even though the turtles couldn't really understand Selphie, they seemed to be scared by her craziness. They could practically smell the danger.   
  
Selphie giggled a little more and then decided to let herself fall on her back, lying on the floor. She took a deep breath as she stared at the ceiling, contemplating over the things that had happened. Her favorite couple was on a break. Not good. Kairi was trying to copy Sora. Not good. Now she was even staying with Riku and from what she had heard today, Riku didn't seem to have the urge to kill her. Not good at all.  
  
The girl sighed. "And again, everything is up to the great Selphie! I have to find a way to fix this problem...."  
  
Without another thought, though, she fell asleep and started dreaming of limbo-dancing camels.  
  
~~~  
  
The next day Sora met with Tidus, challenging him to a fight. Since they both hadn't sparred in a while, their movements were a little awkward. But it wasn't only that. Tidus seemed to have something on his mind.   
  
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Sora eventually asked as Tidus forgot to dodge and received a full blow.   
  
"Ow!" Tidus rubbed his shoulder and plopped down on the ground, waving his hand in dismissal. Sora cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Now what? You seem so different today! Something happened with Selphie?" Sora suddenly noticed that he hadn't talked much to Tidus lately. Not that he had ever talked much to Tidus. But it was always Riku hanging around Selphie and Tidus now, Sora noticed that he had been way too fixed on Kairi. He still was. In a different way, though. He wanted her to get away from Riku.   
  
"Selphie?" Tidus asked, sounding tired.   
  
Sora nodded and sat down next to Tidus.   
  
Tidus sighed and rested his head on his knee. "I haven't seen her since she left for her top secret mission....But that's not the problem." The blonde sighed again and frowned, drawing random patterns into the sand with his finger. Silence filled the air and Sora wondered what made Tidus so pensive. He wasn't much of a thinker, just like Sora, so what would cause him to be like this?  
  
Then, when Sora was almost about to ask again, Tidus spoke up.   
  
"Say, Sora, you're in love with Riku, right?"   
  
It was a simple question and Sora's mind immediately screamed 'YES!' but Sora found himself surprised by it.  
  
"Um..." he hesitated but then his voice finally worked. "Of course I am."  
  
Tidus nodded and then looked away. "Does that mean you're gay?"  
  
Sora felt the heat rise into his cheeks and looked down, trying to hide his embarrassment. Tidus turned to look at him, stared at him. Sora felt uncomfortable and started to fidget around, searching for an answer. He hadn't really thought about it yet. Did he even have to think about it? Wasn't love something that came from the heart? Did you have to be gay to love a person of your gender?   
  
"Or can a person just like someone, well, in *that* way, without being gay at all?"  
  
Sora's eyes snapped up to meet Tidus's and he gulped. What was that all about? This was embarrassing! Tidus, however, seemed to be totally serious, he seemed to need advice.  
  
"Um, I..." Sora began, trying to get out of this awkward situation. "I, Riku and I, we've been friends, for a long time, so, um, yes, we like, love each other, and, uh, I, well...."   
  
Tidus rubbed his temples. "Wakka and I have been friends for quite a while now," he murmured, more to himself than to Sora. Sora heard it, though, and raised his eyebrows in curiosity.   
  
"Wait-does that mean, you, you and Wakka?"  
  
The other boy's eyes widened instantly and he jolted up, shaking his head vigorously while he waved his hands frantically.   
  
"Nononono! It's not like that! Never, never! I mean, I like Selphie! She's cute and I really really like her! And Wakka, Wakka's like a brother-but Selphie made us kiss-and it felt-but I-and we--" He was cut off by Sora's sudden grin and stopped his movements before he frowned.   
  
"What...are you thinking...Sora?" he eventually asked, narrowing his eyes as he saw the glint in the other boy's eyes.   
  
The brunette chuckled and grinned even more as he got up. "Time will tell," he stated, seeming like a wise man if it weren't for the huge grin he was wearing. Tidus blinked in confusion and opened his mouth to say something. However, he stopped as he saw that Sora was currently staring into another direction. He quickly turned his head to see what Sora was looking at.   
  
~~  
  
"I really like spending time with you, you know. I mean, we've been friends before and then we kind of hated each other, but now it's all right again, right? I think that's really cool!" Kairi bounced across the bridge, talking to Riku while the silver haired boy seemed to be deep in thought. They were on their way to the Paopu Island, Riku's favorite place.   
  
"We could go and explore something, too! You know, the island I was stranded on was really interesting, wanna see it? We could go there for some adventures! It kind of reminds me of old times, when we were little," the girl rambled on, still sounding like a bad imitation of Sora, but at least her hair was normal again. Her clothes were still Sora's since Selphie burned down the house with all the belongings.   
  
Riku nodded every once in a while to fake acknowledgement when in reality he was going through his own mastermind plan to spice up the new competition between him and Sora. Through experience, Riku knew that Sora was undefeatable when it came to cuteness, but he also knew that Sora could *not* take his eyes off Riku when he was wet. Something he had learned was that Sora simply loved it when Riku came out of the water.   
  
Riku came to a halt when he reached the edge of the small island and began to take off his shirt. Kairi, who was still talking about something, stopped suddenly and fought back a gasp.   
  
'Oh my God, what is he doing? Undressing?' She almost thought he was going to do something naughty, but this was Riku, and she knew for a fact that he would not do something like that with her. Not yet, anyway.   
  
Kairi watched as the silver haired boy removed his shoes, waiting for him to strip off his pants. He didn't do it. She raised her eyebrows.   
  
"Excuse me for a while," Riku casually said and then he jumped into the water.   
  
Kairi gaped and the splashing water hit her, causing her to cough and splutter as it flew directly into her open mouth.  
  
"Ew! Saltwater!" she complained. She looked at the surface of the water, it was totally still. Where was Riku? There, she saw him. A flash of silver was visible under the waves and then he appeared, gasping for air as he arched his back, stretching out of the water. Kairi nearly swooned at the sight - Riku looked like a merman.   
  
His hair stuck to his face, wet and heavy, and Riku slicked them back, then shook his head to let it fall back naturally. It felt good doing this once in a while. Although it would have been much better if Sora had seen him.  
  
~~  
  
Sora's eyes were wide, the tip of his tongue played over his lips and he hungrily stared at the person in the water. He had turned his head just in time, right when Riku had been about to jump into the water.   
  
"Is that Riku in the water?" Tidus asked, noting that Sora wasn't even hearing him.   
  
The brunette was completely absorbed into the sight of his love and shuddered as Riku moved to swim towards the shore.   
  
'He's coming!' his mind piped. Of course, Riku hadn't even seen Sora and wasn't really intending to come to him. He was totally oblivious to the fact that Sora was currently drooling an ocean, and continued to wish that Sora would see him somehow.   
  
He reached the beach and stretched again, letting the sun stroke over his bare chest. He took a few deep breaths and then shook his head like a puppy, making the hair flow gently with the breeze.   
  
Sora sank to the ground, clutching to his shirt, pulling on it as he felt like he was going to choke. Riku simply took his breath away and he was totally unaware of it!  
  
"Hey, Riku!" Tidus suddenly called, and the silver haired boy turned to see the younger boy. And then his eyes widened. There wasn't only Tidus but also another boy. The cutest boy of the universe, to be exact. Riku gulped. So Sora had seen his show? He suddenly felt a little embarrassed although he didn't quite know why.   
  
The embarrassment, however, faded as he saw the expression on his love's face - and, well, the drool at the corners of his mouth. He inwardly smirked at his victory and decided to take it further.   
  
"Hey there," he called back, making his way to his two friends. A little stretching here, a bit of hair tossing there, and Sora would be a puddle in no time! Riku almost felt like grinning.   
  
Meanwhile Kairi watched the spectacle in confusion, standing on the edge of the Paopu Island. Sora was there! Riku and Sora were seeing each other! This was bad, she thought. They were supposed to be on a break, why weren't they mad at each other? She frowned. Maybe she had to push on a little to get her way.   
  
Riku reached Tidus and Sora, smiling at the half-melt boy on the ground.   
  
"Hello, Sora," he smugly chirped, crouching down to the boy. Sora looked up at him with half-lidded eyes, making him look impossibly adorable. It was like war. Sora's cuteness against Riku's sexiness. Riku smirked and leaned in until their faces were only one hair-breadth apart. He lightly blew out his breath, hovering his lips over Sora's. His tongue licked over his lower lip and he was tempted to lean in for a kiss but luckily he stopped himself.   
  
He couldn't afford to ruin the game. He couldn't afford to lose. Sora was going to be the one surrendering.   
  
So Riku pulled away and got up, massaging his neck.   
  
"What'cha doing?" he asked as he turned to Tidus. The blonde shrugged and pointed at Sora's wooden sword lying next to Tidus's stick. Riku nodded once and then turned around to see if Kairi was still on the Paopu Island. She was. He rolled his eyes, unable to shake off the feeling of discomfort when he saw her. He turned slightly to see what Sora was doing now. He watched him out of the corner of his eyes and smiled.   
  
"Be careful not to drown in your drool, Sora," he teased, wearing a satisfied smirk.   
  
The younger boy quickly shook his head, snapping out of his daze.   
  
"Wha?" He wiped at his mouth, pouting ever so adorable, and jumped up. Riku chuckled and turned back to face Sora, raising his eyebrows. Sora was still pouting at him and crossed his arms in a childish way, making him look a lot younger than he actually was, and Riku nearly melted at the sight. The two boys looked at each other, each starting to feel dizzy because of the other.   
  
'Stop being so cute, stop being so cute, stop being so cute or else I'm gonna lose my mind!' Riku silently prayed while Sora was thinking almost the same.   
  
'Stop being so damn sexy, stop, stop, stop or else I'm gonna pounce you right here!'   
  
While the two boys stood there, undressing each other with their eyes, growing more desperate after every moment, Tidus scratched his head in confusion.   
  
"Um, excuse me, guys, but I, um," he stammered, not wanting to interrupt whatever they were doing since they seemed to be busy. Tidus could tell from the looks they were giving each other. It didn't surprise him when he was being totally ignored by them.  
  
He sighed and decided that this was all he needed to see. Also, Sora had helped him a little with his small problem, so he didn't feel as pensive as before. Maybe he could even meet with Wakka and forget his worries while playing Blitzball.   
  
"Uh, yeah, I'll be going now. Um, have fun...or whatever."   
  
Sora and Riku didn't seem to notice him at all and so he left without any other words.   
  
'I know I'm supposed to make him wait....' Sora thought, but seeing as the water drops trickled down Riku's pale chest, seeing how the sun shone on the beautiful silver hair, seeing how mesmerizing Riku's eyes were - Sora wouldn't be able to stand it. But he knew that he had to. He started this game and he was not willing to surrender so easily.   
  
"I think I'm going to look for Selphie now!" he suddenly exclaimed, tearing himself away from the heavenly sight.  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow, watching Sora fidget around. At least Sora was suffering as much as he was.   
  
"All right, I have to go back to.... Kairi ...."   
  
Sora winced but nodded. "Yeah. Um, well then, see ya. Somewhere. I guess." He turned, already starting to walk away, as Riku called out to him.  
  
"The promise! Don't forget it."  
  
The younger boy smiled, remembering the cave, the promise they had made. They would come together in this cave again. When time was right, they would meet there and it would all turn out ok.   
  
Sora turned back briefly, nodding at Riku with a happy smile, before he waved and turned on his heels.  
  
For now, competition was on.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: I wanna say that I was inpsired by The Only Reason by forgottenfayth and Hints by OukamiYasha today. I was dead tired and really down today but after reading those 2 fics FLUFF took over and I just had to write another chapter of Next Lesson ^-^  
  
Hope ya like this chapter, too! Review and I'll update! ^^ 


	51. In the Night

Author's Ranting: Oi, oi, it's been a while. But I had my reasons. A lot of work, a lot of changes, no motivation at all.   
  
Sorry. But I got a chapter now and I hope you like it. I haven't written for a long time so I don't know if I'm still good at this.   
  
Read it anyway, ne?  
  
~~~  
  
Two days had passed.   
  
Riku woke up in front of his house, rubbing his head. The last two days were *the horror*. Kairi had been constantly breaking things, annoying the hell out of him when he was about to sleep, running around with a wooden stick that was supposed to be a sword, and she was playing dumb, dumber than she actually was.   
  
The silver haired boy sighed, rubbing his head again in frustration. Kairi had brought him to a point where he ran out of the house to hide so he could have some peace and quiet. He must have fallen asleep some time around midnight and since it was still dark he couldn't have slept much. Thankfully Kairi slept like a stone and almost till noon.   
  
He rolled over to lie on his stomach, head resting on his hands. The sand under him was warm and the wind stroked over his hair like a gentle hand. A lovestruck sigh escaped his lips and turned his face downwards to his hands. He was miserable! Two days without Sora and he was dying. And the fact that Sora was *the* greatest tease on earth didn't help at all. Last time he'd seen Sora he had to control every bit of him to stay calm and not jump him right here and there. He had to be cautious because this was not a thing of break or not break anymore, it was a competition. And Riku would never lose to Sora.   
  
But then again, this competition was driving him mad. Sora was doing his best to avoid Riku, he knew it, and whenever they did see each other Sora was more than fully prepared to launch one of his cuteness attacks. It was simply not fair.  
  
Riku snorted, clenching his teeth at the memory. It was impossible to avoid someone you've seen every day of your life. It was just unnatural not to be with each other. Thinking of Sora now, Riku fell into a state of half-dreaming, half pondering over what to do. Soon, his thoughts were all fixed on Sora, the beautiful cerulean eyes, the pouty lips begging to be kissed, fine, slender hands that were not in the slightest affected by his constant sword training - so innocent and sweet. Riku bit back a moan. It was driving him crazy. Sora's whole attire was just screaming 'KISS ME'.   
  
"SoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraSoraaaaaa........." He chanted, kicking around in frustration. He was definitely losing his mind. And as he kicked and wriggled he felt something creeping up behind him, something that made him feel uneasy in an instant. He tensed, slowly, mechanically, turning his head to gaze at the thing behind him at his feet.   
  
His eyes widened in utter shock and he worked his mouth as though he was trying to say something.   
  
Big black eyes were staring at him, a green round head moving slowly and in such a sluggish way just like Riku's worst nightmare. The chubby legs moved, so slowly that it was already frightening to watch.   
  
"Oh no...." he whispered, feeling too much panic to move. The green thing was crawling towards him, onto him, to be exact. It was moving up his leg and Riku watched in horror.  
  
"GET OFF ME YOU MONSTER!!!" He screamed on the top of his lungs, not caring if he woke anyone, especially Kairi who was sleeping in his house with the window open.   
  
"The window!" A sudden idea struck him and he nervously glanced at the green thing on his leg. He jumped up, horrified when he saw that the fiend was still clinging to his leg, staring with dull black eyes. Riku bit his lip, narrowing his eyes, contemplating what to do. The window, his mind piped. Yes, the window. But he was too afraid to touch the thing.   
  
"Aw, what the hell!" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, concentrated on forcing his fear down. Just a turtle, wasn't it? Just a green, sluggish, probably slimy, evil monster-turtle. Riku trembled but stayed strong. He could beat that monster, couldn't he? He was strong. He wasn't afraid of anything....except turtles!  
  
Riku opened his eyes, his hand rushing down to grab the monster. He grimaced at the feeling of actually holding the thing and quickly turned to the window. His hand was shaking terribly and he grimaced even more as he held the turtle up.   
  
"Sorry, Kairi," he whispered and then flung the reptile through the open window, his room to be exact. The idea of having the thing in his room didn't bother him at all since Kairi was sleeping in there and he had no intention ever to enter that room again.  
  
Having disposed his worst nightmare, Riku felt too shaken to go back to sleep. He wasn't tired anymore and thinking about Sora was too painful. He decided to go for a walk, a walk towards Sora's house. He wouldn't go in there, of course, but he would sit in front of it, or maybe just stand there, watching the door, knowing that Sora was sleeping there, peacefully. He would see Sora in his mind, the chocolate brown bangs hanging over his eyes as his eyelids fluttered, dreaming of cheesecake.   
  
Riku smiled, shaking his head.   
  
"I'll just stay for a few minutes..." he murmured to himself. He then realized that his turtle-phobia was probably totally ridiculous, but it would bring him nearer to Sora. He wouldn't have taken a walk if it weren't for the turtle.   
  
"Must be fate or something..." he chuckled as he started walking away from the hell he once called home. Hopefully that turtle would eat Kairi...or Kairi ate the turtle, whatever happened, one fiend would be gone. Riku chuckled some more and sighed at his hostile thoughts. He shouldn't think like that about Kairi.  
  
But for now, he'd walk to Sora, just to be near him. He could swear he felt the presence of him even when he was just standing outside.   
  
As he walked, something moved behind the bushes. A yellow clad girl sneaked towards the house and peered into the room where the turtle had been thrown.   
  
"Tee-hee...there is no such thing as fate, my dear Riku. Only The Great Selphie..." She had planned this, knowing that Riku would be out there, knowing that he would go seek Sora once his turtle phobia kicked in. Yes, she was The Great Selphie, almighty, knowing everything that was going on on Destiny Islands.   
  
She smiled as she looked inside the room. "Kairi and Kairi..." she chuckled. She had sent the turtle Kairi on this mission. How fitting.  
  
Just a few feet before he reached the house, he stopped. He didn't feel all too comfortable anymore with being near Sora. He stopped in his tracks, wondering whether he should go there or not. What if Sora saw him? Well, that wouldn't be much of a problem because he did want to see Sora very badly. But would Sora approve of it? He was indecisive, yes, he wanted to see Sora, wanted to be with him. But could he really? Would he be able to hold back, play their game and pretend he and Sora weren't interested in each other? He could not.   
  
Then again, it was unlikely for anyone to be up at this hour, so he wouldn't see Sora anyway.   
  
"What shall I do..." he asked himself, turning, looking at his surroundings. Then he remembered. The time they were in that cave. He said they could always come back here when they felt weird, confused, lonely. He felt like going there now. Even if Sora wasn't there, the memory of them sitting together in the cave would surround him, comfort him.  
  
He went walked into the water and began to swim to the cave. When he reached it, he froze. A person was sitting there, staring at the walls. It was dark, so he couldn't see much more than the mere silhouette but it was obvious who this person was.   
  
"Riku? What are you doing here?"  
  
He stiffened. Hearing that voice made him feel giddy.   
  
"I'm just..well..." he murmured but stopped. He came out of the water, walking up the boy on the floor and sat down beside him. It seemed the right thing to do.  
  
He looked at his friend from the corner of his eyes and saw that Sora was doing the same. He blushed slightly and turned away, looking at the wall in front of him.   
  
Sora mimicked him. For a while, they just sat there, looking at the wall.  
  
"I can't sleep...I counted sheep but that didn't work...I kept waking up after a few minutes or I didn't really fall asleep. It feels so strange to lie in that bed..." Sora complained, knowing exactly that Riku would get the message. Of course Sora couldn't sleep because he missed Riku, both knew that and Riku felt pretty much the same about Sora.  
  
"Have you tried counting cheesecakes?" Riku casually replied, as though it was serious advice.   
  
Sora laughed a bit at that, accidentally brushing against Riku in the motion and the silver haired boy felt the electricity of their touch. He wouldn't be able to restrain himself once Sora hit the line.   
  
It was silent again and Sora leaned on Riku quite deliberately. It didn't seem to be part of the game, though. It seemed much more like a dream, a beautiful dream, and Riku was afraid to wake up.   
  
"What's Kairi doing all day?" Sora suddenly asked although he didn't move. Riku inwardly groaned at the mention of the girl and sighed, subconsciously wrapping an arm around Sora's shoulder.   
  
"She's annoying me. I'd like to kill her." He stopped, frowning slightly, then continued. "That's what I'd say when I had to be completely honest. But you know, I can be nice to her. I've been trying for the last few days. I'm trying hard. And that's just for you. I promise, a few more days and you'll see how nice I can be to her."  
  
Riku had set his mind to make Kairi feel at least a little wanted. Even though he couldn't stand the mere sight of her, he would pretend to accept her so there would be no more fighting. He was tired of all the fuss about them. Couldn't Kairi just give up? Accept that he and Sora were in love and she was not wanted between them? She could be their friend, yes, but never a replacement for either of them.  
  
Sora pouted, pulling away.   
  
"Why do you do such things?" he asked, sounding very childlike and naive.   
  
Riku cocked his head. "What do you mean 'why do I do such things'? I'm doing this for you!" He frowned in confusion. Wasn't that was Sora wanted? To get along with everyone?  
  
"Wasn't that what you wanted? To get along with everyone?" He heard himself say just as he thought.   
  
Sora then blinked. He looked at Riku with a thoughtful expression, tilted his head to the side as if pondering over something and then smiled.   
  
Riku felt even more confused now as he saw the smile.   
  
"You're really trying to change for me, aren't you?"  
  
Riku nodded. Of course. He would do anything for Sora, he would even change his attitude problems regarding Kairi.   
  
Sora stopped smiling and Riku almost thought he'd done something wrong. But Sora scratched his head, looking absolutely adorable as he did so.  
  
"Wait a minute...that's not a good thing....didn't you always say you shouldn't change yourself because of other people?" He was serious now, thinking about that.   
  
Riku blinked. "But that's different. I mean... I'm doing this because I want to. For you. Um...wait...I'm...huh, now I'm confused." He found himself stuttering, unable to explain this. What *did* he plan to do? He wanted to show Sora that he could be nice to Kairi, that he was not ignorant and uncaring, right? But being here with Sora, it seemed he didn't have to prove anything. Why couldn't they just be like this forever? Why did they ever go on a break?  
  
Sora smiled again and reached out to hug Riku.   
  
"Thanks, anyway," he murmured, kissing Riku on the cheek. The silver haired boy flushed, so unlikely for him, but he did, and then Sora let go off him, far too quickly for his taste.   
  
"This thing about the break....." The brunette began. Riku's ears perked up and he listened carefully. He felt hope rising in him but he wouldn't allow himself to presume things that wouldn't happen.   
  
Sora looked uncomfortable. "We're still on a break, okay?"   
  
Crushed.   
  
"Yeah, sure." Why the *hell* were they on a break, anyway? Riku was getting more and more frustrated. Sure, they had had some problems back then because of Kairi but how could Sora have this idea of breaking up? Unless someone told him to... 'Oh,' Riku thought. Of course, Kairi. But that wasn't the problem now, Sora was going to say something.   
  
"And as of this morning we'll remain on the break..."   
  
Riku blinked. As of this morning? Remain?   
  
"But for now..."  
  
Oh oh, heart fluttering, heart beating all too fast.   
  
"For now...how about..."  
  
Heart exploding, don't let him say something stupid. Let it be something worth exploding.   
  
"How about taking a break?"  
  
Riku blinked. Sora looked hopeful. "What?"  
  
Sora frowned. He had those pouty lips again and Riku bit his tongue to focus on anything but Sora's kissable lips.   
  
"We already *are* on a break," he said, tongue feeling slightly numb now that he had bitten down on it so hard.   
  
Sora's arms went flying into the hair and he rolled his eyes heavenwards.   
  
"Gods, are you that's thick? I meant a break! A break from the break, you know!"  
  
Riku blinked. What the hell?   
  
Sora looked at him, expectantly, waiting for an answer. "Well?"  
  
The silver haired boy narrowed his eyes. What was the purpose of this? Some kind of trick he was using? Was Sora planning to kill him with that? He sure as hell tried hard during their little play. He remembered the day before, when Sora had cut one of his fingers accidentally while picking some mushrooms. How he managed to do that remained a riddle to Riku but he supposed there were some stingy plants or something.   
  
And then the thing happened, Sora started sucking on that finger. And all the while Riku had been watching, eyes wide open. Sora had been looking at him, so innocent, yet so wicked. Sora was pure tease and he knew it.   
  
Back to topic, though. What was now? Was he trying again to use some tactics to make Riku lose this game? He wouldn't give in because he would make Sora beg for him to come back. He wouldn't crawl on his hands and knees, it would be quite the opposite. Or wouldn't it?  
  
"If you mean I get to make out with you, everything's fine."  
  
Riku started mentally beating himself for that answer. It did sound like the usual cocky Riku, cool and aloof, always having replies like that. Sora didn't know how torn he was inside, how confused! And it was probably for the better...  
  
Sora grinned, so very adorable that Riku melted in an instant. 'Oh no, he's winning!' he cursed and shook his head.   
  
It was too late, though, as his mind wanted to protest. He closed his eyes and felt the sensation of soft lips touching his own, seeming very timid at first.   
  
After the first touches, though, it became more intense, for Riku got the hang of it. Sora was giving himself over, he was being so timid and shy because he wanted Riku to take the lead. The play of dominance was for once not there.   
  
Riku wanted to say things like 'you're all mine' and 'you belong to me' but he stopped himself whenever this entered his mind. He wouldn't claim Sora as his, not in this way. And as the night passed, he poured his heart out, explained his emotions through gentle touches, kisses, tender caresses. And at one point, Sora kissed him, hungrily and passionately as if to say 'I'm yours' but Riku could not be sure and he didn't care. And then it finally dawned on him the very thought, the understanding he'd been searching for: They belong *with* each other, not to.  
  
And as he claimed those lips, hungry and full of love, Sora returned all of those feelings and gestures - and the night was lost in unforgettable moments of pure love.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Well, that was sappy. Dunno where this came from. *sighs* I'm sorry for not updating so long but I'm really busy. I need to read 10 books in three months and write reports on them, analyzing the writing style and all... it's really annoying. So, please bear with the seldom update. I promise, though, that I will always update sooner or later! Until this fic is finished (and there is no end in sight) I will always update, even if it takes a looong while. M'kay, that's all I wanted to say. Review if you like, ne? 


	52. Queen of Fate

Author's Ranting: Hey hey! Welcome to the Triple Feature! This time, I have **THREE CHAPTERS in ONE UPDATE**! Since you guys want Sora and Riku to be together so bad...the break will be over soon! Chapter 52, though, will not be about Sora and Riku. It's more about...well, read it!   
  
Here goes the first chapter of the triple feature!  
  
~~~  
  
Tidus woke up from a nightmare, shaking in fear and confusion. He didn't exactly know what he had dreamt but there were still a few fragments, blurry but there. And they involved Wakka. He looked at the clock to see that it was still early but the sun was already coming up so he decided to get up for good. The last few days had been awkward whenever he was around Wakka. They were extremely jumpy around each other nowadays and Tidus didn't like it.   
  
Wakka woke up from a very weird dream, feeling slightly disoriented and dizzy. He couldn't quite remember the dream now, only a few blurry images that wouldn't tell anything of this dream. The only thing he knew was that Tidus was involved.   
  
He looked over at the clock to see that it was still early despite the rapidly rising sun. He sighed and turned around, closing his eyes once again. Maybe if he fell asleep, he would be able to dream once more and this time he might remember some of it.   
  
~~  
  
The first rays of sunlight hit the cave's walls and Sora awoke with a warm feeling in his chest. He knew that something had changed over night and he couldn't suppress the content grin plastered on his face as he remembered the last night. He felt so light and carefree, just like the morning he'd first woken up with Riku in his bed with the only difference that it felt a thousand times better now.   
  
He turned his head to search for his lover, for he wasn't sleeping in his arms. However, all he found was Riku's shirt, which was lying next to him, looking like it had slipped off him when he turned in his sleep. Riku was nowhere in sight and Sora felt a little disappointed. Still, he remembered what he had said, that they were on a break from this morning on and that the night had been an exception. He suddenly smiled again, taking the shirt into his arms before lifting it up to inhale the scent.   
  
"Riku…." He kissed the shirt, hoping that Riku would feel it through some kind of telepathic ability.   
  
~~  
  
Riku was in his house again, sitting on the couch. After he had gotten himself another shirt he had made sure that there was no turtle in his room, only a sleeping Kairi. Well, he hadn't *really* made sure if the thing was still there, just peeked a quick glance and run away after suspecting that it might still crawl around somewhere under his bed.   
  
Ridiculous, he knew, but this wasn't something to take lightly. He had a serious phobia and he admitted it. Because turtles were evil.   
  
He leaned back, closing his eyes. The night had been exhausting. He had got lesser sleep than usual…but it had been worth it. He grinned, seeing Sora's sleeping form curled up against him in front of his mind's eye. They belonged with each other; he knew it now. There was nothing like owning someone, having control over your friend all the time. They were only complete when they were together because Sora was Riku's better half, he had always been. He was the light that led him out of the dark corners of loneliness. He remembered when Kairi had first come to Destiny Islands and Sora had been so interested in her that Riku felt neglected. He even let her come into their secret place and let her draw on the walls. He remembered Sora saying that Kairi was special and that had sliced through his heart more than just once.   
  
However, he could have never been angry at Sora because whenever Riku felt left out or lonely, Sora would come to him after he had finished talking to Kairi. No matter how much time the two had spent together, Sora would always come back to Riku, asking him all kinds of questions just to keep him talking. And so it happened that Sora had become Riku's light. The one to make his fears and pains go away with the simple gesture of a smile. And smile Sora could.   
  
Riku rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He was getting sappy. Then he chuckled. He wondered what Sora would do once he woke up. Riku had left without waking him and Sora was probably confused about that. But maybe he wasn't. Riku had left his shirt, too, to cover Sora since he thought the boy might be cold. Not that there was cold weather but Sora might feel cold inside when he woke up without his love. Riku certainly did. So he left the shirt as some kind of apology and reassurance that the night hadn't just been a dream. It had been way too real to be a dream anyway…  
  
A light knock on the front door interrupted his daydreaming and he pushed himself up to see who was coming to him this early.   
  
He opened the door and found Selphie standing in front of him.   
  
'Great,' he thought. Just what he needed. A hyperactive girl at 6 a.m.   
  
"Ah, so you're already back? Where's Sora?" She invited herself in and bounced past him, humming a little song to herself as she made her way to the couch.   
  
Riku blinked and turned around to see her sitting down.   
  
"What? How should I know?" Why should he know where Sora was? Of course he did know, but why did Selphie know he knew?   
  
"Earth to Riku, earth to Riku. You just spent the night together. Don't you think you ought to know where he's now?" The girl flipped her hair over her shoulders, twisting the ends of her strands in an absent manner as she looked at Riku.   
  
The silver haired boy raised his eyebrows in surprise.   
  
"How did you know we were together?"   
  
Selphie grinned. She waved her hand in dismissal.   
  
"You just told me."  
  
Riku was about to open his mouth to reply but Selphie cut him off. "Besides, I was the one who sent you to him, remember?"   
  
That got him thinking. He rewind the last few hours until he came to the point where he was in front of his house, trying to sleep. Then he remembered it; the turtle incident! Of course…turtles…He should have known it was Selphie behind this. And he remembered thinking it was fate that he was so shaken he had to take a walk to Sora.   
  
"Call me Queen of Fate!" Selphie giggled, jumping up to pat Riku on the back.   
  
The silver haired boy hung his head in defeat as Selphie continued to bounce around him in circles, rambling something about her knowing everything due to her superspecialninjaspyingtechnique and her amazing skills in combining everything.   
  
As she bounced, Riku had time to think about this. Actually, she really was quite amazing. If she really did plan all the things that happened then she definitely had one hell of a mind, knowing them and their actions well enough to plan ahead that much.   
  
He smiled, reaching out to stop the girl from playing rubber ball.   
  
"Heh, guess I do have to give you some credit, Selph."  
  
At that comment, Selphie's eyes lit up and Riku almost thought they caught fire.   
  
"Really? You mean, like, reaaallyyy??"   
  
It was too late to flee now and Riku knew he was doomed. Because right after he had said that, Selphie began to bounce at inhuman speed, squealing in delight that someone had complimented her. It seemed impossible that this girl was clever enough to make plans. It even seemed impossible that this girl was capable of doing *anything* besides bouncing.  
  
Eventually, though, she calmed down and only jumped from one foot to the other, remaining in place. She was smiling and it was practically blinding Riku.   
  
"Thanks!" She hugged him and Riku hugged her back as he chuckled. Selphie was the strangest girl he had ever met.   
  
She pulled away then and looked serious again.   
  
"So where's Sora?" She began to bounce again, holding Riku's hand, which caused him to involuntarily bounce as well. He shook his head and Selphie mimicked his expression in question.   
  
Riku laughed and withdrew his hands to stop bouncing. "I guess he's either…still where I left him or he went home." The image of Sora sleeping peacefully in the half-lightened cave made his heart jump and he almost began daydreaming, if it weren't for Selphie.   
  
"SO YOU'RE STILL NOT TOGETHER??" she screeched at the top of her lungs, grabbing Riku's shoulder to shake him. She was definitely strong and it surprised Riku as she nearly flung him towards the couch. Girls were sure scary sometimes. He knew why he never bothered to get together with any of them.  
  
Riku winced at Selphie's screams and eventually clamped a hand over her mouth.   
  
"Stop it already, will you? Kairi's still sleeping. And now…no, we're not together. Remember? Sora wanted that break and so we're just….kind of…well…." He blushed at the memory of their night. That was certainly not what a break was about. It got him grinning and Selphie screwed up her face in wonder.   
  
"Mind in the gutter?" she asked as she watched Riku's expression.   
  
"Huh?" He came out of his thoughts, seeming like he had totally forgotten about everything. He looked lost as he turned his eyes back to Selphie.   
  
The girl sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, I sent you that Kairi turtle to get you moving. And I thought you'd, like, make love all night and get together and it's happy ending for everyone!"  
  
She was already readying herself to bounce again but Riku stopped her as he held her in place.   
  
"No it's not that easy. Sora's not going to give in that easily. We've made some kind of deal…like, we're trying our best to make the other give in first. He's been really tough, using his cuteness to win and I think it's really unfair of him since he's the cutest thing ever so-" he broke off and frowned. Why was Selphie looking like she had another crazy idea?  
  
"Um, Selphie, no matter what you're thinking…stop."  
  
But it was too late, for Selphie was grinning from ear to ear. "So *that's * what it's about? Oh Riku why didn't you tell me?? I could have helped you so much! All we need is that bunny outfit and some music! You'll see, once we've made you learn how to do a decent striptease performance, Sora's easy prey!"  
  
Riku sweatdropped. And then he snorted. Like *he* had to learn how to do striptease that could cause major blood loss due to nosebleed. He'd done it before and Sora had nearly died back then. But it seemed a good idea to tell Selphie to get the things for her new plan since she would probably run away to do it - and she would leave him alone.   
  
"Do whatever you want, oh great Queen of Fate!" He smirked and the girl giggled, nodding in approval.   
  
"You're getting the hang of it, Lord Fluffy Tail! I'll get the costume and music, you just wait. Sora will surrender to us!"  
  
And with that she really rushed out of the house, so fast that Riku barely saw it. He blinked. This girl was definitely amazing and full of surprises.   
  
Smiling a little to himself, he let himself fall back on the couch, noting that it was still not even seven o'clock. Kairi hadn't woken up despite Selphie's screaming and that was good.   
  
He closed his eyes, leaned back and relaxed. Time to get some sleep.   
  
A light knock shook him out of his peaceful state.   
  
'Not again' he thought, hoping that it wasn't Selphie again. But if it wasn't Selphie, who else? Sora? Could it be that his Sora was standing at his door right now?  
  
Riku jumped up as fast as he could and hastily stumbled to the door to open it.   
  
However, the person standing before him was neither Selphie nor Sora. It was…  
  
"Tidus…" It was more of a question than a statement and the blond teen seemed to be uncertain about his coming. He just stood there like he hadn't meant to come anyway.  
  
"Well? What are you doing here?" Riku asked after a while. Tidus was acting weird. He was simply standing there, looking down in what seemed to be embarrassment as he shuffled his feet. If he wasn't planning to talk soon, Riku would just shut the door again and go to sleep. Just when he was about to say that aloud, Tidus looked up at him.   
  
"I…I need to talk. To you. About...something."  
  
He looked past Riku, then back to the boy and Riku understood, nodding before he let him in.   
  
They sat down on the couch and Tidus seemed unusually awkward and nervous despite his cheery attitude. His mood usually fit Selphie's even though Selphie was a bit, well, more than just a bit more hyperactive than Tidus.   
  
"So, what's up?" Riku eventually asked, seeing that Tidus was again not saying anything.   
  
The blond frowned and looked up, meeting Riku's gaze. He was entranced for a moment, then tore himself away to look at his hands in his lap.   
  
"There's something…something I need to tell you…"  
  
He suddenly looked up again, scanning the room for something, making him look as though he was paranoid. After he made sure there was nothing and no one to interrupt them, Tidus motioned Riku to come closer. The silver haired boy lifted an eyebrow but obeyed, leaning in so his face was closer to Tidus's.   
  
They looked into their eyes for a moment and then Tidus turned away, murmuring softly.   
  
"I know you've never seen me as a really close friend…more like…a beating partner or something…"  
  
Riku inwardly smirked at that. It was quite like that, yes.   
  
"But I think we've got closer lately…right?" Tidus was blushing a little and it worried Riku as he heard these things. Gotten closer? Yeah, maybe. They had talked a little more than usually to each other. Mostly because of Selphie, she was like glue sticking them together, all of them. And ever since the whole thing with Sora and him started and Kairi got insane, they've all gotten closer to each other in a way. More than just beating partners, like Tidus had said it.   
  
"Yeah, I guess," Riku replied, wondering what Tidus was trying to tell him. It all seemed very suspicious to him. Their faces were so close and Tidus was murmuring, almost whispering and he was nervous and he constantly blushed and said that they were friends.   
  
Was this going to be what he feared to be? It couldn't be! Could it?  
  
"And I…I think I can trust you…right? You wouldn't laugh at me…or would you?"  
  
Riku shook his head. Inside he was preparing for the worst. Nope, it couldn't be. Not Tidus. Sora, yes. Of course, they were meant to love each other. Kairi, okay, it was a shock but it happened. But Tidus? Nope, not Tidus. Not good old Tidus.   
  
"So…I…I think I…um…you…we…I…." The blond stammered now, unable to form a coherent sentence. Riku's mind was refusing to think of what he was going to say.  
  
But they were so close to each other right now, Tidus whispers so barely audible that he had to get even closer until he felt the other boy's breath and it was uncomfortable like that. But even if his mind didn't want to hear what Tidus had to say, for he feared it to be horrible, he still was curious about it.   
  
"I….Riku, I…."  
  
A loud squealing suddenly rang through the place and Selphie came running in like a rabid bull.   
  
"I'M BAAAAAACK!" she shouted with a huge grin on her face, holding the bunny suit in her hand.   
  
Tidus and Riku froze in shock, unable to move away, both knowing what this must have looked like.   
  
Selphie turned to look at them and dropped the suit. Tidus's eyes widened in realization.   
  
"Selphie?!"  
  
"Tidus!"  
  
The door of the bedroom opened, revealing a sleepy girl, rubbing her eyes. She blinked.   
  
"Riku?"   
  
The silver haired boy, still too shocked to move, looked at her out of the corners of his eyes.  
  
"Kairi..."  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Cliffhanger! This sure feels like a soap opera. Maybe I should rewrite the whole thing with original characters, make it into a screenplay, hire horrible actors and make my own soap! LOL....or not. ehhem. Right, so, next chapter is waiting for you!  
  
Also, you can review this if you like. 


	53. Kairi died? Can't be

Author's Ranting: Selphie, Tidus, Kairi and Riku in one room. Chaos is waiting!   
  
~~~  
  
The girl looked around. Last time she checked she was the only one living with Riku. And Tidus was *not* attempting to kiss her Riku right now, was he? It certainly looked like it.   
  
"What's going on here?" she inquired as she rubbed, again, at her eyes to make sure she was awake and not in some weird dream.   
  
Selphie cocked her head and crossed her arms. "Yeah, what's going on here??"   
  
Tidus finally managed to move away from Riku and curled up on the couch. The silver haired boy simply stared in confusion. Something about this situation was wrong.   
  
There was Selphie, who had just ruined the door by trampling in he noted, and there was Kairi who was wearing Sora's pajamas, and then there was Tidus curled up into a ball like some alien had just tried to abduct him.   
  
Ok, it wasn't that something was wrong. It was the *whole situation* that was wrong!  
  
"I'M THE ONE WHO'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"   
  
The two girls blinked and raised their eyebrows at Riku, who blinked himself. Had he just shouted like that? He hadn't even realized. This was really confusing him and the fact that he didn't sleep last night wasn't helping either.   
  
"Okay….let's calm down first…" he eventually muttered, ignoring the fact that he was the only one starting into hysterics. Selphie was calm compared to him and that meant *a lot*. Kairi just stood there with a sleepy expression and eventually padded over to Tidus.   
  
"What's up with him?" she asked, poking the curled up boy.   
  
Selphie bounced over to him and poked him, too.   
  
"Tidus? Are you all right? You look like you've seen a tango dancing lama!"   
  
At that, the boy looked up, one eyebrow raised while he gave Selphie an incredulous look. Riku shared his opinion. Leave it to Selphie to make a weird comment involving animals….  
  
But that didn't solve the problem this time. After giving Selphie a look, Tidus reverted to resume his position as a ball and it seemed he was trying to hide in the cushions. The girls exchanged a look and Riku's eyebrow twitched. Why couldn't they all just leave so he could go to sleep? And what in the world was Tidus trying to say?   
  
Suddenly Kairi stifled a yawn. She rubbed her eyes and turned to the clock.   
  
"Still so early? Why did you guys wake me at this hour?" She yawned again and waved at Riku, trying to look cute as she winked, and went back into his room. In that moment Selphie remembered the turtle incident and dashed after Kairi to get her baby back. Even if this Kairi turtle was evil, it was hers and she could never get her gang of turtles together if one was missing. She only needed to find three others to have the complete group.   
  
Riku slapped his forehead and fell back against the couch, exhausted now that he had been so nervous and nearly hysteric.   
  
He didn't dare close his eyes, for he knew that there was just going to be another obstruction as soon as he relaxed. His mind started to wander again as he stared at the ceiling. He wanted to see Sora now. All his thoughts of Sora being his light were getting to his head and he wished that *his light* would come *now* to save him because only seconds after he almost let himself relax, he heard a high pitched scream coming from his room.  
  
"I knew it…I so knew it…" he muttered to himself as he got up to see what had happened. Before he walked, though, he turned one last time to see that Tidus was *still* hiding. He shrugged and proceeded to his room.  
  
"What the hell is-" he was cut off by Selphie running into him with a tear-streaked face.   
  
A sudden shock ran through him as he saw her face and he opened his mouth in attempt to ask what had happened. Selphie grabbed his arms and shook him, shouting at him.   
  
"Kairi's dead! Kairi! Kairi, Kairi's dead! She's dead! I just came in and then…I…she was dead, just like that!!"  
  
Riku felt his heart jump and sink at the same time. Kairi was dead? He couldn't believe it and even if he did, he wouldn't know what to feel. It struck him in bittersweet horror to hear what Selphie was saying because a tiny little part of his mind, probably the devil on his left shoulder, told him that this was the only way to solve their problems, that fate had finally gotten rid of the obstacle.   
  
But he knew that it was simply *wrong * to think like that and he quickly pushed the little devil back to where it had come from and forgot all about it. Kairi was dead? It couldn't be! Selphie was probably just exaggerating or making up some stupid story. But then why was she crying like that?  
  
"Riku! What shall I do? I never thought she'd…"  
  
The silver haired boy was helpless. He had no idea what to do. It was then when Tidus finally decided to move again and he got up, wondering what Selphie was crying about. He could hear her weeping from the couch and it worried him.   
  
He saw Selphie crying then, still holding on to Riku's arms with a firm grip. Riku was staring off into space.   
  
Tidus frowned and walked past them into the bedroom where he saw Kairi lying on the bed.   
  
"What…happened?"  
  
He walked closer, attempting to ask Kairi what had happened to make Selphie cry like that.   
  
When he came to her, he stopped. She was lying completely still, arm draped over her eyes. Behind him, Selphie sobbed. He frowned more. He leaned closer to Kairi, wondering how she could remain so calm when Selphie was sobbing and weeping like mad.   
  
And then he blinked, wrinkling his nose slightly.   
  
He reeled back, turning to Riku and Selphie. "Hey, don't you think you should be a little more quiet? I don't know what you're crying about but if you make so much noise you'll wake her up."  
  
An unintelligible mutter came from the bed and the girl turned to her side, kicking at something that wasn't there. She was obviously dreaming now.   
  
Riku snapped out of his daze and his eyes fell on the girl on the bed, who was moving and sleep talking, oblivious to everything around her.   
  
He blinked. What? Hadn't Selphie just said Kairi was *dead*?? Well, not that he'd believed her. Selphie was always one to talk nonsense.   
  
"Selphie, what *are* you crying about?" he eventually asked, shaking her to make her stop her crying.   
  
The brunette sobbed once more, punching Riku lightly.   
  
"Can't you show more feeling?! Kairi's dead! You must have thrown her against the wall or something when you threw her into the room!"  
  
Thrown her against the wall. The little wheels in his brain started to work. He had only thrown one thing into this room and that was last night when he had been attacked by his worst nightmare.  
  
"You mean…"  
  
Selphie let out a wail that was loud enough to be heard all over Destiny Islands and then she picked something up and shoved it right into Riku's face.   
  
The silver haired boy's eyes widened in surprise - and disgust - and he reeled back, falling on his rear end as he stumbled over the threshold. But the thing was still moving! How could it be dead?!  
  
"Selphie, this…this…this thing is still…moving…you know…" Riku couldn't find the courage to stand up and instead he scampered away into the living room.   
  
Selphie wrinkled her nose and turned the turtle in her arms around to look at it.   
  
"What?! You're still alive?" she squealed, patting the animal's head. It moved its head as if to say yes and that was prove enough that it was not dead.   
  
"Huh? But she looked dead right now!" Selphie insisted, running after Riku, who was hiding behind his couch.   
  
"I swear! She looked completely dead when I saw her lying on the floor! I nearly stepped on her, too! Poor thingy…." She cuddled her 'Kairi' while Tidus decided that he did not want to know what this was about. He had his own little problem right now and he *still* wanted to talk to Riku about it. Hopefully this chaos would soon stop.  
  
Riku peeked from behind the couch.   
  
"Well, you see, the monster is still alive!" he called, crouching back into hiding as Selphie came closer. There was one thing, though, he didn't understand. Why did she say *Kairi* was dead?  
  
"Poor Kairi-turtle! Thankfully she still lives because if she were dead the gang wouldn't be complete!"  
  
She bounced towards the door. "Now I need to get the first aid kid! You almost killed Kairi! Shame on you, Fluffy!"   
  
Riku was just about to object but she was gone again as fast as she'd been before. The silver haired boy only blinked. Was this Selphie-girl even human? And what was that about Kairi?? Why did she say he almost killed Kairi? The only thing he'd nearly killed was-  
  
He groaned.   
  
Tidus watched him from the doorway, biting his lip in worry. He wished Riku would calm down so he could tell him..   
  
"First those Sora and Riku turtles and now she got Kairi…can't she name them after someone else?!"   
  
He growled and covered his face with his hands. It must have been this Karma thing. The night with Sora had been so beautiful but it was not what he was supposed to do since they were on a break, and now, as a punishment, he was in hell. 'Yea, that's it,' he thought. He was in hell because the flesh was weak.   
  
Then he remembered Sora and he was sure of one thing. At least it had been worth it. Even if he was in hell forever, at least he had spent his last night with Sora. His beloved Sora… How he wished to see him now.  
  
"Eh, Riku?"   
  
His eyes snapped open while he had no idea that he had them closed and turned his head to the boy standing in front of him. He frowned as he saw Tidus's expression. He was still trying to tell him that something, he feared.   
  
"I really, really need to tell you that…" He sat down next to Riku, voice growing quiet. The door to the bedroom Kairi was sleeping in was still open so Tidus wanted to be extremely quiet. She didn't have to hear about this.   
  
Riku went numb. 'Okay, it's hell. I don't care. It doesn't matter,' he told himself, trying to ignore the closeness between him and Tidus.   
  
The blonde frowned and started to fidget nervously.   
  
"So… I wanted to tell you…something…about me and…well…."  
  
Riku simply sat there, not moving, not looking at anything in particular.   
  
"Remember when Selphie had this idea of that lesson? I mean, when she showed you how to react when your…boyfriend…kisses another boy?"  
  
Riku nodded but his face remained blank. Whatever Tidus was going to say, and he had the feeling he knew what he was going to say, it wouldn't bother him. Even if the whole island started to chase him, he wouldn't care.   
  
However, as Tidus moved even closer, Riku jumped slightly and felt himself tense. This was not good. Not good at all.   
  
"Ever since then I've been feeling weird…and I thought I should tell you that…"   
  
It just couldn't be!   
  
"Tidus, I'm sorry but you know I love Sora! And the fact that Kairi's chasing me is only annoying me so I don't need anyone else do that! I'm sorry, Tidus but you need to see that!"  
  
He jumped up, trembling without noticing it as he stumbled a few steps. He only hoped that he hadn't hurt his feelings because he was a nice boy. Nice but no substitute for Sora.   
  
When he looked at the other boy's face he frowned. Tidus didn't look hurt but somehow confused. Had he said the wrong thing?   
  
Tidus wrinkled his nose and looked at Riku in complete confusion. "What? Who was talking about you or Sora or Kairi? I was talking about me and Wakka!" He crossed his arms, lowering his head to think about something.   
  
Riku mentally kicked himself. His face flushed and he felt like a complete retard. This was the most embarrassing thing ever! But luckily Tidus seemed too absorbed into his thoughts to worry about Riku's outburst.   
  
'But it all seemed so obvious,' Riku's mind defended.   
  
'Well, obvious if you're paranoid,' the other part of him scolded.   
  
'He damn well has the right to be paranoid!" his mind piped, reminding Riku of Kairi and all the crazy events lately.   
  
Eventually his mind came back to Tidus and to what he had said. He said he was talking about him and Wakka?  
  
"What about you two?" he dumbly asked, still not daring to sit down again. He was still shaking, too.   
  
Tidus looked up and shrugged.   
  
"It's weird… I thought I might tell you because you would understand…and maybe help me?" The boy sounded near despair which was very unlikely for him.  
  
"Well, I can't understand if you don't tell me what's it about," Riku replied, finally calming down a little. As he sank into the cushions of the couch he felt sleep coming back to him. He was still exhausted from the night and he hadn't slept at all thanks to his visitors. Hell, he reminded himself.   
  
Tidus sighed and scratched his head. He shrugged and dropped his gaze again.   
  
"We've kissed and after that it got all weird between us. Like, we…we…" He paused, looking at Riku with pleading eyes. He didn't want to go on with this and begged Riku to understand without him saying it. Riku inwardly smirked.   
  
"Like?"  
  
Tidus glared. Then he slumped his shoulders. "I don't know. But I think of him sometimes and it's not…what it's supposed to be. And when we see each other it feels so strange and I really don't know what to do."  
  
That caused Riku to smirk outwardly, too.   
  
"You think you might have a crush on him, right? And you're worrying about what he thinks?"  
  
Tidus nodded. But there was something else. That something he had also asked Sora some time ago.   
  
"Do you think…you need to be…gaytolikeaboy?" The last part was rushed but Riku understood it all too well.   
  
He chuckled. "I think you know the answer," he answered, shaking his head slightly. Tidus raised his eyebrows in surprise.   
  
"What do you mean?" he questioned him.  
  
Riku heaved a sigh and he seemed to go into a state of daydreaming but then he caught himself and came back to reality.   
  
"I mean, look at Sora. He was in love with Kairi before. That means…he actually likes girls, right? And also, what about you? What about Selphie, didn't you think she was cute?"  
  
Tidus nodded. Then he frowned again. "But what am I supposed to do? I still like Selphie and the thing with Wakka is just weird."   
  
Riku shrugged and made a dismissing motion with his hand. "Time will tell," he replied, reminding Tidus of Sora who had said the same thing. He had to smile. They did influence each other more than a little.   
  
"Well I guess…" he muttered, getting up. He straightened himself and nodded at Riku in apology.   
  
"Sorry for all the trouble. I'll let you sleep now." He smiled and Riku yawned, already leaning back to close his eyes. Tidus left without further words and it got quiet. At last, Riku thought, it was time to sleep. Kairi would sleep for about five more hours so he still had time.   
  
Shifting so that he was lying on his stomach he let out a sigh and relaxed. Peaceful quiet. No rabid Selphie squealing about bunny costume and strip tease, no monster turtles called Kairi… Riku's eyes snapped open.  
  
His gaze wandered to the floor where he saw the bunny ears, red bowtie and black jeans lie along with a CD player standing there. He eyed the items for a long time, just kind of staring at them without really thinking of anything at all. Only when he saw Selphie before him, bouncing around and telling him how easy Sora would give in with this, a smirk made its way to his lips. He wasn't going to let Sora win even if it meant to torture him slowly and painfully.   
  
He felt like he had learned his lesson already, like didn't need to stay with Kairi anymore. He had originally planned this to see if she really had changed for the better so he could stop hating her. It had worked…a little. He didn't hate her anymore for trying to separate him and Sora; now he simply hated her for being annoying, not because he was jealous. And that was a lot better so he was somewhat proud of himself.   
  
His only ambition now was to get Sora crawl back to him, weeping and begging him to take him.   
  
Riku smirked smugly at that thought.   
  
He didn't know, though, that Kairi was not sleeping anymore ever since she had overheard the conversation between Tidus and Riku. She was now breeding a new plan - to get revenge. She didn't hate Sora anymore and she definitely didn't hate Riku but she wanted to pay them back somehow. She wanted everyone to pay for what they had done. And even if she didn't know how, she would make them see what she felt. They were a bunch of psychos anyway, she thought.   
  
Sora and Riku were queer and only thinking of making out with each other all the time. Now they had even infected Tidus and Wakka with that queerness and they were going to be just as dumb as them. And Selphie…she was a psycho, period. Talking to turtles and naming them after her friends, it was insane. Kairi had kicked the turtle on the floor because it was in the way. She sure wished it had died right there. Would have served Selphie right.   
  
"You're all just insane…" she muttered, closing her eyes to think of a new plan.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: So, that's the thing. TidusxWakka anyone? ^^ But what about them...are they really in love? Or just friends? Will we ever know? And will *they* ever know??? I guess not. ^-^  
  
But there's still a chapter, right? Sora and Riku gonna make up soon? Or will they just make *out* a lot? Probably both? Well, go read it!  
  
And feel free to review this chapter if you like. 


	54. Protect me from the rain

Author's Ranting: I, for myself, liked this chapter a lot. I nearly cried while writing it, too LOL but that's just because I'm emotional unstable. heh.   
  
I really recommend listening to "I Promise" by Stacie Orrico while reading this because it's what I've been listening to while writing and really sets the mood. And the lyrics fits, too.   
  
So yeah, if you wanna cry and die of sap, listen to that song while reading.   
  
Now, here we go, last chapter of the triple feature and probably the most beautiful one, too! Yay for chapter 54 and SoraxRiku ^-^  
  
~~~  
  
Sora was back in his room, still holding Riku's shirt in his arms. He had made up his mind. The break was over for good. It had been Kairi's idea anyway. He couldn't believe he had done what she told him to. Of course he still remembered what had driven him to do it, he remembered Riku's obsessive behavior and jealousy but wasn't that part of him? Riku was Riku and Sora was in love with him.   
  
"Getting sappy," he scoffed at himself, wondering if Riku had influenced him that much.   
  
He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes to imagine it was Riku stroking over his hair. Even though he wanted to play a little longer he realized that the longing in him was eating him up. He lifted the shirt to his face and inhaled the scent again just to feel closer to Riku. The tips of his fingers ran over the fabric and then he curled his hands to grasp the shirt, but it was empty.   
  
He felt empty.   
  
Opening his eyes again, he turned to look out of the window. The sun had been up for a while now but it was getting dark again. He cocked his head and looked closer. There were clouds moving to cover the sun. It seemed like it was going to rain soon.   
  
A smile played over his lips as he had an idea. It wasn't cold despite the upcoming rain, so what else could he do than go out in the sweet summer rain. He loved it when it poured down on him while the warm wind blew over him. Of course he wouldn't be able to take Riku's shirt with him because it would get soaked so he had to keep it in his room, on his bed where he wished Riku would be.   
  
He smiled and walked out, already feeling a few drops on his hair. He tilted his head to look up and a drop fell on his nose, making him chuckle. The rain was warm. The wind was warm.   
  
He spread his arms and waited for more drops to fall down on him  
  
~~  
  
Riku went out, feeling a few drops splashing on his head.   
  
"Oh no, it's raining? Damn…" He had planned to do this strip show right now but the weather seemed to have other plans. He put the things back into his house before he walked out again. It would be fine just like this, he thought. The rain was soothingly warm and even though he still hadn't slept he didn't feel tired anymore.   
  
Actually, he felt like a little boy again when the rain began to get heavier. He remembered playing in the rain with Sora when they were kids. Riku would sometimes complain that his clothes were soaked and that he had to sneeze all the time but Sora would just smile at him and giggle at the rain.   
  
Riku smiled at the memory. Sora was probably still the same. Just as Riku was.   
  
He began to walk, feeling the drops splash on his hair and arms, and it felt good. He didn't know he was walking towards Sora's house until he saw a figure in the distance, standing with their arms spread.   
  
His subconscious must have driven him here…or it had been Selphie, the self-proclaimed Queen of Fate. Though how she should have done it was a riddle to him, so he came back to the conclusion that it was his subconscious.   
  
The figure in the rain turned their face to look at him just in that moment and even though they were still far away, Riku saw the smile on their face.   
  
~~  
  
Tidus was sitting in the rain, unable and unwilling to sleep. He liked the rain as much as Sora and would rather sit in the warm rain than in his room where he would just start to think about things again. He didn't want to think but let time tell, as both Sora and Riku had told him.   
  
He sighed, resting his head on his knees as he drew them up to hug them. His clothes were getting wet but he didn't care. It wasn't like he was going to catch a cold when it was this warm.   
  
"I knew you'd be out here, ya," someone suddenly said, causing Tidus to bolt straight.   
  
He looked up to see his friend standing before him, having his ball tucked under his arm.   
  
"Wakka…" Tidus murmured, puzzled to see the redhead here.   
  
Wakka sat down next to him, obviously not too comfortable with the rain messing up his hair. Tidus watched him in amusement as Wakka tried to keep his hair standing.   
  
"Stupid rain…" the other teen muttered, placing the ball down to use both his hands to save his hairstyle.  
  
"I like it, though," Tidus replied, tilting his head back to let the drops hit his face. Wakka paused fussing over his hair to look at Tidus. His eyes were fixed on him for a while, then he cracked a smile.   
  
"I know," he simply replied, imitating the other boy to let the raindrops fall on his face.   
  
Tidus smiled and he knew that no matter what was going to happen next, this moment would always be a beautiful memory to him.   
  
They sat in the rain, heads tilted to the sky, catching the heavy drops of rain with their eyelashes, noses and lips. Just like they used to when they were kids.   
  
~~  
  
Riku came closer and Sora kept his smile, arms still spread out wide. The rain falling was creating a rhythm and Riku liked the sound of it. It sounded like a song playing and it was a beautiful song. He seemed entranced by it and the thoughts of teasing Sora vanished in an instant. Instead, he only wanted one thing.   
  
He came even closer, now standing almost before Sora and he lowered his head while his hands rested at his sides.   
  
Sora waited.   
  
Riku took the final step, walking right into his arms as he let his forehead rest against Sora's throat. The younger boy's smile broadened and he closed his arms around Riku, drawing him into an embrace and tugging his head under his chin.   
  
They stood like that for what seemed to be eternity while the rain kept playing its song.   
  
Riku was not moving, he didn't even wrap his arms around Sora at first. He just stood there, leaning against Sora while the other boy tightened his arms more and more. It seemed Sora was protecting Riku from the rain.   
  
A memory came back to him; it was the memory of one morning when they had been little kids. It was even before Kairi came to their island. It was raining, just like today, and it had been warm rain, just like the one today.   
  
Riku was complaining about the rain again, that his clothes were soaked and clinging to him and that it was really uncomfortable. And Sora remembered that at that time, he had smiled and gone to hug Riku tightly, telling him that he would protect him from the rain. And Riku had stood there, a little surprised but very glad about this. And he hadn't moved back then, just like now. He had just *let* Sora protect him.   
  
A heavy raindrop fell on Riku's hair, right before Sora's eyes. The brunette smiled and leaned down to kiss it away, nudging the silver haired boy slightly and affectionately. He felt the response as Riku sighed against his throat and he smiled.   
  
He didn't want to say anything right now because he felt it would just destroy the beautiful moment. The raindrops kept splashing against them and Sora watched them roll down Riku's hair in graceful motions. He tightened his arms once more and tried to cover as much as possible of Riku, enjoying the fact that he was for once the one holding him and not the other way round. It was just like that one time when they were kids. Riku had never let anyone hug him, not even Sora, he always had to be the one doing that. Just that one time in the rain, Sora was allowed to be protective.   
  
And now he was allowed to do it once again.   
  
Riku nuzzled into Sora, taking deep breaths to inhale as much as possible. He was getting drunk on it and there was nothing but this very moment on his mind. He couldn't think of anything but Sora, Sora holding him. It felt too right to think of anything else.   
  
However, something did come to his mind after a while. He still hadn't really apologized to Sora for his stupidity. He had cursed himself to hell when he couldn't tell him those simple words. Sora didn't know about it and he probably never thought of Riku apologizing to him but Riku knew he had to do it or else he would never be able to rest assured.   
  
'I'm sorry,' he thought, preparing himself to say it aloud. Last time he tried, it hadn't worked. This time it just had to work. He would gladly throw his pride, or whatever it was, away just to tell Sora that. He deserved to hear it.   
  
He felt Sora move his hands up and down his back in a soothing motion. He smiled against the younger boy's skin and moved his lips to brush against it in a very tender gesture. Sora flinched slightly and stopped moving his hands for a second, then resumed, with a little more passion. Riku felt the hands roam over him and over the wet clothes sticking to him.  
  
He kissed Sora's throat again, very quickly and softly and it caused the younger boy to shudder. Riku used this opportunity to pull away but only far enough to look Sora into the eyes.   
  
Sora was puzzled for a moment as Riku straightened himself to meet his gaze. He was still a bit taller than Sora, but not much. They were almost equal now.   
  
Riku smiled gently and Sora had to smile, too. Then, the silver haired boy leaned in but stopped before he touched Sora. Instead, he moved his hand to take Sora's and lifted it to skim his lips over the palm, not really touching it but being close enough to let Sora feel his breath.   
  
"I promise to cherish you," he whispered against the palm, tickling Sora slightly as the whispers hit the palm. The sound of the rain seemed to be mute now and Sora only heard Riku's whisper.   
  
The silver haired boy dropped the hand for a moment and leaned in to Sora's cheek, brushing his lips against the wet skin.   
  
"And I promise to be your friend."  
  
Sora inhaled sharply as he felt Riku's lips linger on his heated cheek. His flustered face was hot and Riku's lips were so cool.  
  
Then Riku took both of Sora's hands, pulling them away from the embrace and placed them on his chest, over his heart.   
  
"I also promise you to keep you here," he whispered, pressing Sora's hands closer. "In my heart."  
  
A smile broke over Sora's face and he pulled away his hands to cup Riku's cheek.   
  
He smiled very gently and his eyes were almost getting teary. But Riku wasn't finished yet. He reached out to rest his hands on Sora's hips and slowly wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist.   
  
He gave him a final kiss on the lips, very chaste but loving and pulled back for his final statement.   
  
"I promise to love you forevermore."  
  
He kissed Sora again, this time his lips lingered a little longer than the first time but he pulled away again. It was time to say it, he thought. It had to get out.  
  
Sora felt that Riku was still trying to say something and nodded slightly to encourage him. Riku nodded back and took a deep breath.   
  
He opened his mouth. 'I'm sorry,' his mind said while his voice hesitated. There was something in him that didn't want to admit that he had been mistaken. He was never one to say sorry.   
  
'This is Sora, you idiot,' he scolded himself and he looked deep into his love's eyes. The blue swirls were so encouraging like always. They were sparkling like the guiding light that would save him from darkness.   
  
He made up his mind. 'Yes, this is Sora, my light.'  
  
He moved his face close to Sora until their foreheads were touching and they gazed into each other's eyes.   
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Two words and it still felt like a huge rock had been moved off his heart. He had said it.   
  
"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, for my stupidity and my jealousy and-"  
  
He blinked as he was silenced by a kiss.   
  
Sora pulled away and smiled. "You had a raindrop there," he innocently answered to Riku's questioning look. The younger boy lifted Riku's chin and kissed it tenderly before moving to kiss his throat and neck.   
  
"Raindrops?" Riku murmured in amusement. Sora chuckled and kissed the spot right under his ear.   
  
"Everywhere…need to kiss them all away…don't you think?"   
  
Riku shuddered at the feeling, for Sora had kissed his sensitive spot.   
  
"Yeah…all of them…" he breathed, feeling Sora's lips move all over his wet skin. Sora continued showering him with chaste kisses and Riku curled his fingers in Sora's wet clothes, tightening his grip every now and then. There wasn't anything better than this. If he'd been in hell before because of that Karma thing, he was back in heaven now. No, it was better than heaven. There was no word to describe this feeling.   
  
Sora chuckled as he felt Riku go limp in his arms. He wondered how Riku had changed so much, how their roles could have been switched like that but he knew that he enjoyed everything as long as he was with Riku.   
  
He pulled away for a second, making Riku look up at him in confusion and disappointment.   
  
Sora shook his head and then gave Riku one of his patented Sora-grins, making him so absolutely adorable that Riku thought he would die.   
  
The brunette snickered at the expression and tapped Riku's nose.   
  
"You know, there's never been the need to say sorry anyway. I love you just as you are."  
  
Riku stared at the boy for a moment and then he lowered his head to hide his blush. Riku was blushing and he was cursing himself for it although he was also smiling.   
  
Sora took his chance to wrap his arms around Riku again and felt Riku do the same.   
  
And so they stood in the rain and the clouds slowly began to dissolve and the sun was coming out again. It seemed like a cliché to them but then again, they didn't care. They had each other, now and forever and nothing was going to change that.   
  
Not even the girl in Riku's bedroom that was brooding over her new plan.  
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: THE END! For this update ^-^   
  
I dunno...it may take a while now to update because this chapter was kind of like an end and I also got other fics to work on, so don't hate me if it takes another month or longer to update this fic. I will work on Strawberry Bubbles and Falling For The First Time now but I will continue Next Lesson, too if you want.   
  
Review, review, review, ne? I'm always glad to hear what you have to say! thankies and see ya! 


	55. Over the Rainbow

Author's Ranting: Wow, it's been so long already?? Times passes by SO FAST! I can't even keep track of my updates anymore! It's like I don't write for a few days and suddenly it's like months! I'm so sorry to keep you waiting like that.   
  
You must have thought it's over, huh? Well but it isn't, it can't, because you know Next Lesson is and endless soap opera and will only end if no one wants to read it anymore. I guess.   
  
Um, yeah, so I didn't know exactly what to write but I had this song in my mind all the time...and I decided to use it because Sora and Riku are so cute and they always make everything better when I'm thinking. Ehmm..the song's called Over the Rainbow, I know most of you must know it. But the version I was listening to was by Crystal Kay, a very nice interpretation with a bit of R&B feeling in it and Crystal Kay's got a nice voice.   
  
Yeah. So..that's all from me now. Sorry for ranting.  
  
~~~  
  
"Hmmm...somewhere over the rainbow way up high..."  
  
Sora blinked, turning from the view of the sun coming up, back to look at the silver haired boy. They had been standing for a few minutes now because they actually wanted to go in but then they didn't.   
  
Riku's eyes were half lidded and he absently swayed to the music he was hearing in his head. Sora watched him plop down on the damp sand, which was warming and drying with the upcoming sun and smiled as Riku went on.   
  
"..there's a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby.."  
  
Sora chuckled. "Do I want to know about this?" he playfully asked, sitting down beside Riku to snuggle up with him. Riku put an arm around him and sighed.   
  
"Nope, I guess not. Just stuff going around in my head…and this song…kinda…whatever." He shrugged and closed his eyes as he felt Sora nibble on his neck.   
  
"Mmm…" He writhed as Sora began to crawl onto him, lips and hands claiming what they had wanted for so long. Riku let out a sigh as Sora caressed his abdomen before running his hands up to his shoulders and into his hair. He yielded into the touch and his own hands clutched to the younger boy's shirt, pulling him as close as possible.   
  
Sora smiled at the response and proceeded to lick the spot right under Riku's ear, knowing that it drove him crazy. He smiled even more when he heard Riku gasp and felt the hands grip him more tightly. After all this time, Sora knew exactly how to push Riku's buttons…and his mastermind plan to be on top would surely work.   
  
Riku was oblivious to Sora's intentions; actually he was oblivious to everything except the maddening touches and the kisses that currently tortured him with tease. Well, that and the song. That stupid song wouldn't leave his mind and it was almost a worse torture than the light touches and hot kisses.   
  
"Argh!" Riku pushed Sora away and sat up, shaking his head violently.   
  
Sora scratched his head and frowned. "What?" He seemed a little hurt, or at least disappointed and certainly confused. But he wasn't the only one. Riku was also confused.   
  
"Stupid stupid song!" He shook his head again and then started beating himself to make it go away. It must have been the atmosphere right now that brought this song to his mind. The rain had stopped and he was sure that when he looked, he would see a rainbow somewhere.   
  
Sora just stared. There he was sitting, the silver haired boy he had loved forever, and he was beating on his head because of a song stuck in his mind. Right. Sora couldn't resist and burst into laughter as he watched how Riku kicked around in frustration.   
  
"What are you laughing at?!"   
  
Sora only laughed more as Riku bellowed at him. He didn't see Riku scowl at him but he could feel it and it didn't bother him at all. He was too busy laughing - not that he was laughing at Riku, but he was laughing in happiness because everything seemed so carefree now. The only worry they had was a song, not some stupid relationship problems or evil maniacs trying to get them separated. It was just a song.   
  
"…wake up where the clouds are far behind me….where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops…That's where you'll find me…"  
  
Riku quietly sang to himself again when he gave up kicking around and beating himself. He absently started to sway again, wondering about the lyrics of the song. That place described sounded like Destiny Islands. Especially with Sora being here - it made all the troubles disappear. So it meant Sora was the reason he was thinking of that song?   
  
Smiling, Riku leaned back as he felt Sora wrap his arms around him, swaying with him as they sat together. Riku kept humming the melody and they watched the last traces of rain being washed away by the sun.   
  
Destiny Islands was beautiful in the morning, especially when the morning dew was on the palms and the humid air mixed with the scent of the ocean. The sound of waves dancing in the wind played across the island, accompanied by the dripping of raindrops from some cottage's roof.   
  
"I love you," Riku suddenly mumbled, turning his head slightly to place a kiss on Sora's cheek.   
  
The brunet chuckled and nuzzled back. "I know," he replied, grinning adorably before leaning in to kiss Riku on the lips. That, however, didn't go as planned and they bumped noses because Riku tilted his head the same way Sora did. They both blinked when that happened and pulled away. Riku rubbed his nose and frowned. Sora did quite the same.   
  
"That's weird…" Sora murmured.   
  
Riku nodded. "Never happened before…you think we kind of forgot how to kiss?"   
  
A thought entered Sora's mind and he grinned again, nodding. "May be! But we can always practice, right?"   
  
Riku smirked. "I think it's your fault. So you need another lesson," he answered, catching Sora's wrists with his hands to place a kiss on them. Sora blinked his blue eyes in a way only he could do, looking so innocent and sweet again that Riku felt a rush of confidence course through him. He had been weak before, letting Sora hug him and hold him but now it was his time to get back the way he was supposed to be.   
  
Sora knew exactly what the other boy was thinking, though, and he also knew exactly how to counter it.   
  
"I'm not sure I want you as a teacher."   
  
Riku's eyes snapped up to meet Sora's gaze, a look of shock crossed them.   
  
"What?" It wasn't that he was worried about their relationship; he wasn't anymore because he knew that nothing could get them separated…but what was that now?  
  
Sora withdrew his hands and instead he placed them on Riku's shoulders, moving to straddle his lap. He leaned down and captured Riku's lips and this time it worked. They kissed but it seemed only tentatively because Sora drew back after a few moments.   
  
"We're equal now," he whispered in a serious tone, looking Riku straight into the eyes. There was a glint in his eyes that made Riku worry. Equal? Sure, they loved each other and Riku respected him in every way. But did Sora really mean what Riku thought he meant? Like, really…*equal*?  
  
"I don't think so," he retorted, reaching out to crush his love to himself, causing them to fall backwards until they lay on the sand.   
  
Sora's face was just above Riku's and he grinned, seeming a lot more smugly than he should be.   
  
"I win," the brunet boy happily declared, sticking out his tongue. "I'm on top!"  
  
Riku growled and then snorted, still having a firm grip on Sora's hips.   
  
"Doesn't mean you're in charge," the silver haired boy coolly explained and demonstrated Sora's inability to move unless Riku wanted it that way. On the other hand, Sora was quite successfully managing to divert his attention and tight grip with butterfly kisses on his cheek. And slowly, he loosened the grip and relaxed somewhat, enjoying the lovely sensation. Sora chuckled and mentally did a victory dance. Though one thing worried him. It was the fact that Riku gave up so easily. He wasn't sure whether that was really all right. What if Riku only pretended to be submissive just so he could catch Sora off guard again?  
  
Exactly that did happen then, when Sora pondered over the possibilities of Riku finding a way to resist him and then tie him up to have his way. Sora mentally shuddered at the thought and kept trying to find a way to ensure his safety. And he would have found a way if it weren't for this one little detail.   
  
That little detail that kept him from finding a solution was the fact that Sora suddenly found himself on his back on the sand with Riku leaning over him.   
  
"Told ya so," the silver haired boy playfully purred as he moved to place his lips on Sora's throat. First, he let them rest there, mouthing Sora's name so that the younger boy could feel the vibration with every syllable. He could feel Sora struggle, trying to resist the urge to give in and it made him smirk. That was his Sora. It was just like the times they trained together. Although Riku always won, Sora still kept coming, being sure that he was going to win every time. It was fun to see how determined the boy could be with so little hope. And it was just like this now.   
  
"You just wait…" Sora breathed and gasped as he felt Riku's tongue dart out to play over his throat. He moaned involuntarily and cursed himself shortly after for being so loud. He didn't know that he would get even louder once Riku started to do other things to him.   
  
"Ahh!" He writhed and squirmed at the touch and even though he was still trying to get back in charge, he couldn't quite think or see anything anymore.   
  
"Give it up," he heard Riku whisper, and it was a challenge.   
  
Sora snapped his eyes open, wondering for a second when he had closed them, and clenched his teeth. There was no way he was going to give up.   
  
"Never," he answered with the same determination he had in fighting and Riku wasn't really surprised.   
  
"Fine then."   
  
Sora cried out and bit his lip at Riku's hands working under his shirt.   
  
"Not fair, you know," he managed to rasp out, melting under the wonderful ministrations. Riku's hands were pure pleasure.  
  
"I know," Riku replied, smirking smugly at Sora's reactions to his touches. "And it's good that way," he added, brushing his lips against Sora's. Sora sighed and continued to struggle for a bit longer, trying to switch their positions every now and then but he eventually gave up. For now, that is.   
  
'You just wait…' he thought before he lost himself completely in the beautiful oblivion.   
  
Riku noticed Sora's eagerness for competition and even though he was a little worried about his role changing he was also excited. It was much more fun this way, he thought. It was more like Sora when he tried to outdo Riku. Before, it had seemed like Sora was just a puddle whenever they were together. Of course it was nice and Sora was just too adorable for his own good but then Riku noticed how the friendship element in their relationship was missing. Especially when they were having those problems; it was all like some stupid teenage romance those novels Selphie read were all about. But they were boys and they had their pride. Sora just wasn't a whiny girl waiting for her strong prince to rescue her. Sora was Sora and even though he would never beat Riku, he would try. Or at least that was what Riku thought. There was always a possibility of Sora actually winning against him. Not that he believed it but there was.   
  
And then it hit him. Had he just rambled in his head about Selphie's romance novels? Sure, he had flipped through a couple of them sometimes, occasionally reading a passage out of boredom while he was waiting for the girl to show up at her own house or waiting for her to come back since she told him to stay there. But he had never actually *read* them, right?   
  
"Are you waiting for me to attack you or what?"   
  
Riku blinked as he came out of his thoughts, realizing that he wasn't leaning over Sora anymore but sitting straight up. Sora was still lying there, looking at him with raised eyebrows.   
  
"Thinking?" he asked, reaching out to place a hand on Riku's arm.   
  
The silver haired boy smiled and shrugged. He shook his head and leaned back down, ready to ravish his beloved. Sora frowned. Riku smirked and winked.   
  
"I was just thinking of you in that kitty costume…makes my appetite grow…"  
  
The brunet rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Riku's waist to pull him closer.   
  
"Right, whatever."  
  
Riku chuckled and they rolled over so they were both on their sides, facing each other.   
  
"The sand's sticking to our clothes, you know," Sora complained, patting his soiled clothes. "Makes us look like we were rolling around here…"  
  
He then pouted slightly, drawing his eyebrows together in thought. "Wait minute…" He put a finger to his lips and Riku nearly choked as he saw how the tip of his tongue rolled around the finger that was half between his slightly parted lips. The strange thing was that it didn't look like he was doing it on purpose. It looked completely innocent, this gesture, and that made it all worse for Riku and the now growing tightness in his pants.   
  
"Actually we *did* roll around in the sand," Sora concluded, after he had removed his finger. He didn't seem to notice how turned on Riku was. He was oblivious to the silver haired boy's constantly licking of lips and only understood the situation as he felt Riku close to him.   
  
"Let's roll around some more."   
  
And Sora was happy to oblige.   
  
~~~  
  
Kairi had woken up for the second time this day. Luckily she had forgotten most of what happened in the morning, mostly because she hadn't been too focused on the situation anyway. Her thoughts were all about Sora and Riku and how to make their life a nightmare. She wasn't that angry at them anymore, just upset about the fact that they were together.   
  
"I mean, they're *together*!" she cried out in frustration and disgust. Both boys had been interested in her before! Or so it seemed. Who knows what Riku felt all the time they flirted. Maybe he did it just to keep her away from Sora.   
  
Kairi sighed. They were all majorly messed up. She didn't deny that she was completely messed up, too, but her excuse was that it hadn't been her fault. She wasn't at fault for everything that happened because actually she was a sweet girl. She was nice and loving and everyone liked her. The only problem was that Sora and Riku were a couple - a very disgusting couple that needed to demonstrate their lovey-dovey crap all the time. Kairi was nice, all right. But only to a certain degree because enough was enough. Couldn't others see what was happening? Sora and Riku were setting a trend!  
  
It even got on to Wakka and Tidus now! Kairi tore on her hair as she remembered what she had heard. Why did the memories of that morning come back to her now? She snorted.   
  
Tidus was getting weird ideas now. And he was dragging Wakka with him! Kairi had always liked Tidus for some reason, maybe because he wasn't as annoying as others and maybe she didn't know him that well but he was okay to hang out with. Even if she rarely did. Or never.   
  
And Wakka, Wakka who had been on her side at the beginning. Wakka, who was still a possible ally if she tried hard enough.   
  
But no! They had to be infected by this crap and now they were turning into another Sora and Riku.   
  
That only left Selphie - but who was Selphie? A maniac, that's what she was. You never knew what to make of her and Kairi was slightly afraid of her now. They had been friends before and it had been fun most of the time but ever since this whole mess started Selphie got weirder and weirder. And whose fault was it? Sora and Riku's! If they hadn't…  
  
Suddenly, Kairi stopped in her thoughts. Her eyes had been wandering around Riku's room and for the first time she noticed that thing on his desk. It was a book or something similar to a book. She looked at the cover, which was black and had gold letters.   
  
"Happy Moments of Love" it said. She cringed. Somehow she had the feeling that she didn't want to see it but then curiosity got the better of her and she opened the book.   
  
There were photos, most of them looked like snapshots of awkward and embarrassing situations. Most of them were of Sora and Riku. Most of them were of those two doing something Kairi did not want to see. No, not *that* explicit, because if that had been the case, Kairi might have gone blind. But things like kissing or holding hands or lying in each other's arms.   
  
It got her wondering who had made these photos and she also noticed how little she knew about the things going on. It was like they had excluded her from everything. Not that she wanted to be part of those sickos but then again she felt a little disappointed. It had been all right before all this happened. They were all friends, she was together with Sora as it was supposed to be and everyone was happy and most important of all *straight*! But now?   
  
She looked through the pictures and shook her head.   
  
"Psychos. All of them."  
  
Closing the book, Kairi left the room and went for some breakfast. She had to find a way to fix this situation.   
  
~~~  
  
"I'm gonna show you my new move!" Tidus called as he ran away with Wakka's ball. The redhead crossed his arms and watched as his friend placed the ball in front of his feet. He watched as Tidus rolled it up so it bounced into the air and he watched how Tidus jumped, making a back flip to kick. It looked really cool.   
  
There was only one little thing that disturbed the scene. And that was the fact that Tidus missed…and fell straight on his nose.   
  
"Dammit!" the blonde swore, sitting up after he recovered. He looked around, shaking his head a little disorientated and then located his friend picking up the ball.   
  
"Try again, ya. It looks really cool." Wakka went over and extended his hand to help his friend up. Tidus nodded and let Wakka pull him up. He jerked in surprise at the sensation rush through his hand, something he had never felt before. When he looked up, he saw that Wakka was looking at him a little strangely.   
  
"What?" he asked, letting go of his hand as he was standing again. He brushed himself off and avoided Wakka's gaze before looking up for a moment. The redhead shrugged and threw the ball at him.   
  
"Nothing, just do your move, ya."  
  
Realizing that he must have imagined the look, Tidus dismissed his confused feelings and tried again to do his move. It was funny, though. When he had practiced alone, he had done it perfectly, managing to hit the goal he had made every time. But now that Wakka was watching he just couldn't do it. Why? Why was it so hard to do it and why did he feel so strange when Wakka watched him?  
  
Tidus shook his head again and cleared his mind. No feelings-crap now. He had a move to show and he wouldn't be Tidus, self-proclaimed Blitzball-genius of Destiny Islands if he couldn't pull off that one move. His special move.   
  
"Okay, here we go!"   
  
He jumped again, did a back flip, kicked the ball and landed gracefully with a soft thud. The ball smashed against the precipice with amazing force.   
  
Wakka blinked. The ball bounced back and he caught it.   
  
"Wow."   
  
Tidus grinned sheepishly and scratched his head.   
  
"Didn't think it would be that powerful," he confessed, surprised at his own strength. Wakka tucked the ball under his arm and clapped his hands.   
  
"That's a great move, ya! Now I got to think of one, too, ya?" He rubbed his chin as he thought. Tidus chuckled and plopped down on the sand.   
  
"It would be great to have some more players…so we could make teams and play for real," the blonde mused as he drew random patterns in the sand.   
  
"I know, ya! Hey! We should teach Riku and Sora, then we have four people. That's enough!"  
  
Tidus smiled. Just what he wanted to hear. He always wanted to see how Sora and Riku played Blitzball. It would be interesting because he found that everything those two did was interesting. Especially when he thought he could learn something from them. He was too confused to figure things out on his own, so Sora and Riku might be his guidance.   
  
"Great idea, I'll go tell them!"   
  
Wakka nodded and waved at Tidus before going back to practice and maybe invent a new move.   
  
~~~  
  
"If happy little bluebirds fly then why, oh why can't I…lalala…"  
  
Riku groaned and smacked Sora, earning a chuckle.   
  
"Thanks a lot, Sora. I was just about to forget this stupid song…"  
  
Sora grinned and nuzzled Riku's shoulder. They had managed to keep their clothes on mostly because they were still outside the house. Being too lazy to get up and get a room, they just fooled around in the sand - which was quite fun, Sora noted. He had a lopsided grin plastered on his face after that little session. Riku seemed boneless. If he had ever been that relaxed, Sora hadn't seen it. He really looked like a puddle of something amazingly beautiful.   
  
"We need to do that more often…I like you when you're a puddle," Sora commented, unable to contain his satisfied grin. Riku made a weak attempt to glare but found that he was too relaxed to care.   
  
"Just….shut up," he answered, pulling Sora close to his chest. It was so peaceful, just to lie in the sun. Riku was certain that there wasn't anything better in life than this. There couldn't be anything he wanted. He caressed Sora absently and began to wave his head to and fro. He then noticed that he was hearing that melody again and realized that Sora was humming it.   
  
The younger boy sighed. "Great…now it's stuck in my mind…"   
  
Riku smacked Sora again but only lightly and the younger boy nudged him in return.   
  
"It's all your fault," they muttered in unison.   
  
~Tbc~  
  
~~~  
  
Ending notes: Aren't they just too cute? I mean Sora and Riku but also Wakka and Tidus! I think I'm gonna develop this TidusxWakka thing a little... if you want it, that is. If you think it's horrible then I guess I won't. But I find it kind of cute so...yeah. It also gives me some more to write. The old "Kairi-trying-to-torture-Sora-and-Riku" thing gets kinda lame after the first 50 chapters lol. O'course she'll be there and she'll be a pain like always but things can change, right?  
  
Kay, tell me in your reviews what you think! See ya! 


	56. Moments

Author's Ranting: Hey hey! See? I didn't abandon this fic! I know you thought Next Lesson was over but I told you it's NOT! I just lost all my inspiration and motivation for this one. But guess what, it might be back!  
So here, I present you yet another chapter of the never ending soap opera (never ending, see?) and it might not be all that good because I'm rusty BUT you'll probably like the second half of the fic. It's not a lemon but I think it's even better. Because I realized you can only write about one thing in lemons and that's, bluntly put, sex. And it's always the same because, well, it just is.   
But, a good making out is different. You can do so many things that can all be pleasurable... errrr ok I'm talking a lot of crap here. Just read the chapter and try to enjoy it 

Frozen out! 

==== 

Sora and Riku were playing Blitzball now because Tidus had dragged them to the shore so he wouldn't have to be alone with Wakka. Nice idea, if you thought about it. They had always wanted to have more than two people to form teams and play a real game. Now was the chance to a) be with Wakka without those awkward silent moments b) have people join then in the game. 

Sora seemed completely fascinated by the fact that he was going to learn how to play Blitzball. 

"I wonder why I never thought about it before," he mused, smiling brightly at the idea of learning something new. It was also a new chance to be better than Riku. 

"That's because you don't wonder, Sora. Wondering and thinking requires a brain…" Riku dryly remarked as they walked. When Sora looked at him with a pout, the boy smirked and shrugged in amusement. 

"Yeah, right…" Sora just rolled his eyes and shoved Riku lightly, causing them to stumble. Riku smirked once more and shoved back, but only with one hand, indicating that he was oh so much stronger than Sora. The brunet rolled his eyes again. 

However, he was used to those things by now. He was even glad to have something like that coming from Riku because lately, he had felt like all they did was kiss and make out. There wasn't any of their friendship and rivalry. 

They reached the spot where Wakka was training his every move, so dedicated and concentrated that he didn't even notice when Tidus approached him. 

"Hey!" 

The redhead jerked in surprise and snapped his head to the side to find his guests. The ball he had just thrown bounced off the wall it had hit and fell right back to him. Wakka managed to catch it without even looking. 

Sora's eyes widened. "Whoa, that was cool." 

Riku snorted. "Anyone could do that," he muttered, never going to admit that he actually had thought of it as cool, too. Wakka and his ball were like Riku and his sword. He just _knew_ how to handle it right. 

Tidus grinned and told Wakka about the good news. 

"They'll play with us! We just have to teach them the basics and then we can have our teams and have a real match!" 

Wakka smiled and nodded, giving Tidus high five. 

"All right, ya. Then we'll teach ya about the game." He made a move with his hand, gesturing Riku to come to him while Sora was sent to Tidus. 

"Tidus will teach Sora," he carelessly said as he turned around, gesturing Riku to follow him. 

The silver haired boy frowned. "Aren't we going to train together?" Okay, he knew it was a stupid question but he just _didn't_ want to be separated from Sora. He was still kind of paranoid when it came to those things. Who knew what Tidus might try… 'Ehh, okay, that's very unlikely,' he thought to himself and shook his head. 

"Wakka's a good teacher, Riku," Tidus assured as he waved at them. "And it's not like you're going far away, you'll just go to the pier so everyone has enough space to practice." 

So that made sense. Riku nodded and reluctantly followed Wakka to the pier. Why did he get to train with Wakka? Not that he didn't like him but… 

"First, I'll show you how to throw the ball." 

Riku growled. "I know how to throw a ball," he quickly answered, mentally adding 'retard' to the sentence. Yeah, he wasn't too fond of Wakka. He just felt like the guy was really dense sometimes. And he was a possible ally for Kairi, still. Who knew what might happen between him and Kairi once the crazy girl used her charm on him. She was deadly! So now his mind was back pondering Kairi while Wakka, the retard, tried to explain the different techniques and styles of throwing the Blitzball. 

Because Blitzball was just not an ordinary game. 

Riku was too busy thinking and worrying, though. 

Sora, on the other hand, seemed to have great fun with Tidus. 

"Hahaha see? I hit the spot!" He made a little victory dance and grinned proudly as the ball bounced back; Tidus caught it. He smiled. 

"Sora, I think you're a natural talent!" 

The boys chuckled and continued practicing. Sora was learning really fast and his body was well-trained from sword fighting. He would be the Star Player of Destiny Islands in no time. 

--- 

"I hate this game," Riku sourly muttered as he missed the goal again. They had started to train with a real field with goals and all. He was still worrying about so many things, especially now that Sora laughed, now that Tidus laughed, too. Now that they grinned at each other. How could he not worry? So much about Tidus being straight and only feeling weird around Wakka. He was trying to _steal_ Sora, wasn't he?! 

"Goal!" Sora shouted as he nailed another point, Wakka was unable to block. 

"I love this game!" he cheered, making another victory dance. He seemed to do them quite often now. Tidus gave him high five and they simultaneously jumped and threw their fists into the air. 

Riku seethed with anger. No, he wasn't jealous, not at all. Why should he? It was just that everyone on this island wanted his boyfriend because hey, wasn't that Wakka checking out Sora when he shook his delicious little butt in his dance? ….Or was it just Riku doing it? "I don't know about you but I think this sucks," he bluntly stated, before readying himself to take his leave. He would not look at this any longer. 

"Huh? Aww come on, Riku, don't be a sore loser!" Sora called, tilting his head. "Pleaaase?" 

Riku twitched. No, he would not look at Sora now. Not when he used the 'I'm-so-cute-and-you-love-me' look. 

"Please please please?" 

Riku twitched again. This voice. 

"Sora, I'm not gonna—" 

"Please!" Sora tackled him from behind, successfully hindering him from leaving. "You just can't take it that I'm better than you," he whispered into his ear, pinning Riku down with his weight. 

"That's not it," Riku replied, suddenly noticing the rather awkward position he was in. Was he lying on his stomach right now? Like, unable to move because Sora was lying on top of him? He swore that it should never _ever_ come this far. 

So quickly, with all the strength he had left (since he hadn't put much effort into playing), he rolled them over, pinning Sora down. He was holding his wrists together with one hand while the other one rested firmly on the sand next to Sora's head. 

"I just don't want to share you, idiot," he mumbled before he leaned down to kiss Sora. 

Tidus made a funny noise and quickly covered his eyes. He was thirteen dammit! He didn't need to see someone kissing in front of him. Especially not the way Sora and Riku sometimes did. With all the tongue and wetness and icky stuff. 

Wakka rolled his eyes and nudged Tidus slightly. 

"Come on, ya. We gotta get them back to the game," he suggested. However, it didn't seem like Sora and Riku were going back to Blitzball anytime soon. 

Even though Sora pulled away, tried to push away from his boyfriend, it was all too playful to be successful. 

"What'cha mean share me? With whom?" Sora's sparkling blue eyes made Riku dizzy when he looked at them. It was no wonder that everyone loved Sora. How could you _not_ love Sora? 

"Tidus, Wakka, everyone. They all want you," Riku replied as though it was the most obvious thing. It wasn't, though. 

Sora blinked, eyelashes descending rapidly, covering his azure eyes for splits of seconds. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

They stayed silent then. Riku seemed to be thinking and he seemed to be thinking very hard. Sora watched him with interest, as always, because Riku_ was _interesting, just a little obsessive sometimes. But he no longer cared about that. Sora had come to accept Riku's faults because he knew that this was what made him into exactly the person he was – and Sora knew that he loved this person. 

"You're not gonna have to share me with anyone, Riku. It's all in your head," Sora reasoned with a steady voice. It was like talking to a child. 

Riku snorted and pushed himself up, frowning a little more. "I don't know…it's just that… you're so perfect. Who wouldn't want to have you?" He turned to Sora then, looking at him with desperate eyes. Sora blinked. Whoa. Never seen Riku like that before. 

"Stupid, I only want you, though," he replied, reassuring the usually so cocky boy with a smile. Why was he acting so insecure now? 

Riku sighed. He thought of Kairi again, the girl who was still living in his house, who had tried to copy Sora to replace him. Insane bitch, he thought. And Tidus and Wakka, now that he knew that those two might not be all that straight, who knew what they would do to Sora? It was impossible not so see how tempting his Sora was! 

"Earth to Riku, earth to Riku! You're zoning out!" Sora waved his hand in front of his friend's face and the silver haired boy only blinked slowly as he felt something drop on his nose. 

There was a whining sound coming from Tidus then and Sora snapped his head to the younger boy. 

"What?" he asked, before wrinkling his nose as something dropped onto his head. 

"Now we wasted all the time, ya. It's gonna rain again," Wakka said, quickly going to pick up the ball. Tidus pouted, didn't look as cute as Sora did but still, and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Don't think you're off the hook. We want our game and we'll get our game," he determinedly stated before turning around to leave, strangely enough, not with Wakka but on his own. 

Sora blinked and cocked his head. Tidus was sure obsessive when it came to Blitzball. Or was there some other reason behind it? He also wondered why Tidus didn't even bother to say anything to Wakka. He just left like that, into the other direction. 

"Hmm…" He shrugged. 

--- 

Kairi was pacing up and down in Riku's living room. After sleeping long enough and eating everything Riku had – girls could be such hungry beasts sometimes – she was busy thinking now. Every moment was important. 

"I need to fix this mess," she determinedly concluded after thinking back on what had happened so far. Sora and Riku were a couple. She'd been angry with Riku at first for stealing her love. Then she fell for the damned boy and hated Sora. Meanwhile Selphie betrayed their friendship by siding with the queers. 

And now even Tidus and Wakka had been drawn into this Queerness of Doom. 

A light bulb appeared over her head as she suddenly had the greatest idea of the century. There was simply no better plan, no better coincidence. It seemed as though it was fate. 

"Selphie is going to suffer," she murmured with a smile. It was all too obvious now, she thought, and it was going to be the Queerness of Doom that made her suffer. The thing she seemingly so supported. Kairi snorted. 

Queerness of Doom, Kairi liked that term. She chuckled slightly at the sound of it, speaking it out aloud a few times. 

Then she shook her head to turn back to her plan. She had thought of quite some things now. Tidus was going to fall for Wakka, that was plain. Maybe she would even help them a little so it went faster. She didn't have that much time if she wanted to succeed. Because number one in her ingenious web of revenge was getting Selphie back on her side. 

And what better could happen than Selphie having to suffer through exactly the same thing as Kairi? Poor little Selphie would be all alone, betrayed and lost. And then there would be Kairi, her best friend and they would join forces then, making it their mission to bend their boys back to what they were supposed to be. 

Kairi was set to fix this mess. She was set to get Sora back being her boyfriend, even though she kind of disliked him now. She supposed it was going to fade once everything was back, though. Riku would be the fifth wheel, as always. Just Sora's friend, trying to win Kairi for himself. Kairi had loved the time when the boys constantly competed over her. Riku was going to do exactly that again. And Sora would be all jealous and try his best to impress Kairi. 

Selphie would probably get back together with Tidus, but she didn't really care about that. The only thing that mattered was, that everyone was free of the Queerness of Doom and that Destiny Islands was turning back into Destiny Islands and not Gay Island. 

Kairi nodded. 

"Mission : Fix Queerness of Doom," she proudly announced, nodding in approval as she stopped pacing. 

She looked around the room, just checking if anyone had overheard her, which was pretty unlikely. Then she nodded again, smiling brightly at her wondrous plan. 

Soon, everything was going to be normal again. She could hardly wait! 

"Kairi saves the day!" she giggled, throwing her fist into the air. Nothing could go wrong now. 

---- 

They were alone again. It was cloudy but the rain didn't seem to come. Somehow the weather changed from minute to minute. 

"I think we should still go inside. We've been outside for so long," Riku murmured as he gazed at the darkened sky. Even though he didn't want to admit it he actually enjoyed this kind of weather, feeling like it was kind of romantic. But he'd rather die than admit that he was a hopeless romantic. 

Sora moved closer, cuddling up to him in hope to steal some warmth from his love. Body heat was the best comfort on such days. 

"But I like it here," Sora insisted, tilting his head slightly to look at the sky. He blinked when a raindrop hit his nose. Pouting, he turned sideways and snuggled even closer, burying his face in Riku's neck while his arms came wrapping around the boy's waist. 

They remained like that for a while, not moving, only breathing, only feeling each other. Riku loved the way Sora made those purring sounds and the way it reminded him so much of a kitten. 

"Mine…" he mumbled, not quite aware of it, and wrapped his arms tightly around the brunet. He had promised to be less possessive but he just couldn't change his personality from one day to the other. Sora didn't seem to mind, though. In fact, the brunet could barely contain his grin, kissing Riku's neck in return. 

He shifted suddenly, moving away from Riku for a moment to adjust his position. He sat across from Riku, then smiled and climbed on his lap to straddle him. 

"You know what I was just thinking of?" 

Riku smirked. "I hope it's what I think it is…" 

Sora blinked and cocked his head. Then his eyes widened and he rolled them heavenwards, shaking his head slightly. 

"Noooo, you horny bunny! I was thinking of…" he stopped, seeing Riku's slightly disappointed but curious expression. Sora smiled. He shifted again, causing Riku to glare at him because a wriggling Sora in his lap was not exactly helping. So what if he was a horny bunny? Wait, a _bunny_?! He glared even more at Sora when the words sunk in. 

The brunet ignored it, though, and only moved his head down to Riku's chest, rubbing his face into the shirt. 

He mumbled something but it was too unintelligible as the fabric of the clothes muffled it. 

Riku raised his eyebrows when Sora's hands wandered to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up until his abdomen was exposed. So Sora was _not_ thinking of…? Then what else was he doing here? 

Sora continued lifting up the shirt, carefully and very slowly, in a way that made Riku go crazy. Suddenly, he stopped. Almost all of Riku's chest was exposed to the cold air and he couldn't help but shiver as the wind stroked over his skin. 

"Sora..?" he breathed, narrowed eyes staring down at his love. 

Sora smiled as he looked up. For a moment, their gazes locked and all that existed was them. No beach, no world. Just them. 

Then Sora turned away, cast his eyes downward and moved forward to press his lips to the silver haired boy's chest. It wasn't just anywhere he kissed. It was… 

Riku felt a tingling course through his body, shuddering from the odd sensation of that kiss. 

Sora had kissed the spot where his heart was and he could feel it beat against his lips. He smiled when it started to beat faster. His lips lingered, feeling the pulsating muscle inside Riku's chest. It was the closest they could get. It was closer than making love. Sora was kissing Riku's heart, he knew that he could touch his soul right now. But unable to resist the temptation, he pulled away and looked at the silver haired beauty in front of him. 

Riku's eyes were glossed over, his head had fallen back and his hands were in Sora's hair, trying to press him close again. Sora obliged and rested his head against his lover's chest, humming against the tender flesh. Riku's jaw was slack as he felt the pleasure take over him. With every sound Sora made, he could feel himself come closer to heaven. He bit his lip to stifle a moan, then relaxed his jaw again, uttering a breathless whisper. 

"Sora…" 

His body trembled from the closeness of them and maybe also from the cold air that was still brushing over his skin. His mind was empty, yet there were many things racing to and fro. He tried to grasp a coherent thought but to no avail. Sora's hands wandered up his spine and the plumb lips dropped another kiss on his heart. It felt like… it was indescribable. 

"Enough," Riku suddenly hissed, snapping his eyes open in what seemed to be a violent motion. He shook his head to clear his clouded mind, slowly regaining his composure, at least somewhat. 

Sora frowned in wonder as to why Riku wanted to stop but as the older boy leaned forward to his ear, he could hear his answer. "Mine," came a husky and sensual whisper. Sora's eyes widened just a bit. 

Riku began to kiss the ear, no, he ravished it, taking it into his mouth to suck it gently, licking at it, biting it; and his hands roamed over the other boy's body until he found a hand, taking it gently. 

He lifted it slowly, withdrawing from the slightly abused ear. He could see Sora blink hazy eyes in confusion; his face was flushed and his expression rumpled by pleasure. 

Riku smiled, satisfied with the picture before him and lifted the hand to his mouth. He licked his lips before leaning down to place a kiss on Sora's thumb. Sora's eyelids fluttered at the sensation; he couldn't decide whether to close or open his eyes. 

Some more kisses on the thumb, then Riku moved to the next finger, tilted his head and kissed the fingertips one after another. First it was only chaste, a simply dropping of lips, meeting the soft flesh of Sora's delicate digits but soon, Riku grew more agitated, and so did his kisses. He began to kiss the fingers with more passion, more eagerly until he began to suck on them. 

Sora squeezed his eyes shut at the pleasure flooding him. 

"Oh…" he breathed through parted lips. It sounded like a plea. 

Riku kind of woke from his daze then, hearing that delicious sound, a moan of some sorts; and he stopped sucking. 

It caused the younger boy to whine in disappointment but Riku ignored it, stopping his motions completely. He only moved back from his position and straightened slightly, tilting his head a bit to take in what was being presented to him. 

Sora's expression was divine. The thick eyelashes covered his beautiful eyes and his brows were furrowed together as slight gasping sounds made their way through the parted lips. The lips were so pink, Riku thought, staring in awe. They were so perfect and so soft and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them. 

And so he did. 

Sora jerked slightly, for he hadn't expected that, but he gave in almost immediately, kissing back in his trance. They kissed for what seemed like ages, when in reality it couldn't have been longer than thirty seconds, because Riku withdrew very soon, staring at the nymph before him once more. 

Yes, Sora was a nymph. Irresistible, beautiful, delicate, a wanton beauty… but he was also strong. Not only physically but mentally. If Riku had to be completely honest, he had to say that Sora was definitely the stronger one of them. But he wouldn't actually admit that, no, he would rather die than do this. 

Going back to his task, he began to gently suck on the fingers again, leaving a wet trail of saliva on each of them. He began to kiss the palm and then the back of Sora's hand and then the wrist. His kisses became more fervent, frantic almost as he roamed Sora's wrist and forearm with his lips. He grew even more passionate when he reached the junction between forearm and upper arm, kissing the elbow, biting occasionally, almost desperately trying to get more of Sora. His hand was still holding Sora's while the other one rested on his side. 

Sora sighed, head lolling from side to side. All he could utter was that breathlessly whispered moan. "Oh," he repeated and it came out as sob, a plea for more. Never had he felt like that, never did their touches feel like that and he idly wondered why but then his thoughts were shattered and all that existed was Riku and tons of pleasure. 

His rosy cheeks and swollen lips were so tempting when Riku looked up for a second, still ravishing the tender skin of his arm. 

"Oh..oh..ohohohohh..." Sora couldn't hold back now that Riku had reached his upper arm and his shoulder and it only caused Riku to grow hotter, to get wilder, to kiss and bite in his feverish state while Sora twitched with every sensation. 

And then he cried out, eyes opening for a second, then falling close, hands clutching to Riku in desperation. He had reached a sensitive spot, a deadly area. And Riku was sucking and biting, blowing on the abused flesh, then nibbling on it so expertly that Sora felt like dying from over stimulation. 

Riku continued his sweet torture, growling in passion as he pushed Sora down onto the sand, never ceasing his attacks on the neck now that he found the special spot. Sora was moaning uncontrollably now; he wouldn't have been able to stop even if his life depended on it. It felt too good. Too mind blowing. 

He dug his fingers into Riku, trembling as one of Riku's hands caressed his thigh while the other one roamed his arm. He didn't know where to concentrate, everywhere was bliss. 

Then, slowly, it came to a halt. Slowly but surely, Riku's fervent kisses died down and developed into lazy but loving gestures. And Sora's hands relaxed, stopping to dig into Riku so hard. Everything slowed down, everything turned gentler and softer. 

It was as though their passion was spent, as though they had reached the maximum of what they were capable of – and now it was only being together, only fondling and caressing each other, only loving each other. 

Riku collapsed on Sora at one point, not able to hold himself, noting how tense he had been the whole time. He slowly allowed himself to relax, to lie on top of Sora because he knew his weight wasn't such a problem. Sora was strong. Sora could take it. And he felt the younger boy wrap his arms around him in a loose embrace and he didn't mind. Didn't mind that he was the one being held, the one being soothed by his lover's arms. 

It began to rain again. And it wasn't only a soft drizzling but really heavy. Sora and Riku had to force themselves up to find shelter. They should go home, they thought, home to Sora's house because Kairi was most likely to still be in Riku's. 

So they went, holding hands, not saying anything until they reached the door. Sora opened, they went inside, collapsed on the bed in his room. 

It wasn't until Riku asked what time it was that they began to talk. 

"What was…what was that all about?" Sora countered, almost as if that was the answer to Riku's question. 

The silver haired boy pondered for a while, then shrugged. 

"Words…sometimes words are not enough." 

Sora blinked and cocked his head. "Words?" He looked so adorable with that puzzled look. 

Riku nodded. "I love you but saying that…everyone can say it. Everyone can say three words, it's nothing special. I wanted to prove it to you." 

He didn't know why Sora was laughing then. He frowned, but only a little because whatever Sora thought so funny about it, at least he was laughing and happy. 

"Rikuuuuu!" the brunet exclaimed, tackling his best friend. He smiled his radiant smile, something only he could do. 

"You don't have to prove anything to me, you idiot," he said, hugging him close. 

Riku shrugged. "You're saying you didn't enjoy it?" A smirk. He loved it how Sora still blushed when it came to those things. So long together, so many things experienced, and he still couldn't get over the fact that it was nothing to blush about. 

"I…I didn't say that…" he mumbled, trying to look at anything but Riku. 

The silver haired boy chuckled and leaned back against the headboard, Sora in his arms. 

"What's up with Tidus and Wakka, though?" 

Sora shrugged. "They need to work it out on their own, I guess." 

Riku supposed Sora was right. They had worked it out on their own, too. They even had lots of obstacles, or let's say, only one that came again and again. 

"Stupid Kairi," Riku muttered without meaning to. 

Sora sighed and smacked him slightly. "Don't be mean. She's a big fat cow with warts." 

They laughed a bit and then sighed, realizing that they had barely slept in the last days. And learning how to play Blitzball wasn't exactly relaxing either. 

Sora curled up in Riku's arms, closing his eyes. 

"G'night," he mumbled, ignoring the fact that it was only early evening, if at all. 

Riku contemplated his situation a bit longer but eventually came to the conclusion to take some rest, too. 

"Sweet dreams, kitty," he whispered, smirking as he saw Sora pout. 

Some things would never change. 

Tbc 

==== 

Ending notes: oh yeah about the Blitzball... I didn't exactly know how to write that. Because you'd need a stadium with that liquid and all... just pretend it's a game they can play on the beach, ok? heh...   
I don't know if this chapter made any sense at all but then I guess Next Lesson never made much sense anyway. So, I hope you enjoyed and keep waiting, even if it takes ages, I promise that I WILL update eventually, ok?  
I know it's hard but please keep waiting.   
Good. Now REVIEW! Not that this fic hasn't enough reviews already but I'd just like to know who is still with me, you know? Thanks! and see ya! 


	57. Let's fix the Queerness of Doom

Author's Ranting: Let's face it. I cannot live without writing. I've been completely unmotivated and uninspired for quite a while now but right when I decided to drop the whole thing and forget about it.... I had to start again. I just can't help myself  
So here we go with the next chapter.... I hope you enjoy it. And also...am I the only one who thinks that it's time for another lemon or at least a limey scene?

* * *

"Green leaves are green, white clouds are white, why are my turtles so cuuuuute?" 

Selphie, also known as hyper rubber-ball, yellow monster of sugar or simply Queen of Fate, sat in her room, singing her absolutely ingenious, newly made up song while she worked on her banner. 

The turtle banner. 

Even though she hadn't found the remaining two turtles to complete her gang, Sora-turtle, Riku-turtle and Kairi-turtle were good enough for a start. She would find a Tidus-turtle and Wakka-turtle soon enough. 

"Boxes have no legs, fish have no branches, I have a banner and it's G-R-E-A-T!" she happily sang as she finished the drawing. There were five turtles. They all had special characteristics. The one in the middle had silver hair, probably supposed to be Riku. The smallest had adorable blue eyes and blonde hair – Tidus. 

Selphie giggled slightly at her Tidus-turtle. Actually Tidus wasn't that small, he was taller than Selphie and Kairi, but out of the boys he was the smallest. And the youngest. 

That's what made him so cute, Selphie thought. Tidus was a crybaby but he had a good heart and was very sweet to people he liked. 

Selphie was glad Tidus liked her. He was the best friend one could have, correction, best _boyfriend_ one could have. But somehow things weren't exactly the way she had always imagined them to be. Weren't you supposed to be lovey-dovey and totally enamored with your significant other? 

"In all the romance novels I read, the couple does romantic things. Like…going to the seaside together or watching the sunrise or kissing in the rain…. They all do romantic stuff…" she thoughtfully murmured as she rolled up her banner. She got up, turned and walked towards her bed, where her three baby turtles were sitting. 

She considered putting them outside so they could play but eventually settled for sitting beside them, since it was still cold and damp from the rain. Sora-turtle and Riku-turtle were on either side of her. 

Even though _she_ could distinguish her turtles perfectly, she still thought about giving them nametags so _others_ would recognize them too, before throwing them against a wall or something. Poor Kairi-turtle, Selphie thought, thinking of how Riku had thrown her into the room without a care. 

"Bad Fluffy," she mumbled, petting Kairi's head. 

The turtle was next to Sora and it almost looked as though they were cuddling. 

Selphie frowned. 

Were Sora and Kairi going to fall in love and have babies…? 

"That would be _so_ great! More baby turtles!" she squealed, beaming at the new thought. She would make her own army of turtles and be the Princess of Turtles. She couldn't be their queen since she was already the Queen of Fate! 

But then she stopped. 

"…wouldn't Riku-turtle be jealous…?" she mused, putting a finger to her chin in wonder. Riku was possessive, wasn't he? And Sora and Riku belonged together, even as turtles! Kairi couldn't come between them… 

Her thoughts wandered again and somewhere between chocolate chips and iron bars, she came to think of Tidus again. 

They weren't acting like a couple at all. They rarely saw each other and when they did, they were never alone. But Selphie was a busy girl, right? She had a lot to do! Like, helping Sora and Riku to get back together… Oh! Weren't they together yet? She never found out what happened after she left with her injured Kairi-turtle, telling Riku to do some striptease for Sora to seduce him. He had better followed her advice and gotten Sora back that way! 

But thinking about it for a while, Selphie realized that she had been completely caught up in the love-life of other people that she had totally forgotten about her own. 

Maybe she should go and visit Tidus? 

They could do romantic stuff like… 

Wouldn't Headboard Squirrels be the perfect name for a band?! 

"Ooooh! My turtles can make a band and call themselves Headboard Squirrels!" 

Thoughts about being romantic vanished and were replaced by squirrels, crayons and a huge bowl of punch. 

Don't ask. 

--- 

Kairi was still in Riku's house. She still hadn't started her quest of stopping the Queerness of Doom, even though it was already late afternoon, hitting early evening now. But she would eventually. 

Right now, though, she was busy looking through Riku's stuff. After a lot of contemplating she reached the conclusion that she still hated Riku for stealing her Sora but at the same time there was still something very attracting about this boy. 

"Stupid Riku…" she muttered, trying to get him out of her head. Little did she know that saying his name over and over would never help to make him leave her mind. 

Somehow, she had always liked him but she had never thought it would turn out _this_ bad. She supposed she had a slight crush on Riku, but Sora was the one going to win her heart. 

Well, she supposed wrong, obviously. But back into the past… Kairi heaved a sigh, drifting off into her own fantasy world as she opened another drawer of Riku's dresser. 

Before she had gotten together with Sora, he and Riku had been competing over her nonstop. Riku would always flirt with her and who could resist him? No, really, Riku was simply irresistible when it came to this. Kairi wondered if Sora still loved her and only got together with Riku because the silver haired boy had used his irresistibleness and charm to confuse poor Sora. Some part of her still believed this, hoping it would make her mission a little easier. If Sora was just confused, then she only had to bring him to his senses. 

But anyway…Riku…was irresistible. Flirtatious, sexy and terribly charming. Why wouldn't he leave her mind already?! Kairi sighed. 

She had still liked Sora better at that time because she thought he was her one true love. She knew she was destined to marry him and have five kids and a dog, living in a house with a garden. 

…All right, that wasn't exactly what she thought. But close enough. 

Still, Kairi remembered that she had once considered asking Riku out. But being the shy girl she was, she never got the courage and eventually decided that it was the boy's job to make the first move. Strangely, it never happened. Well, now it didn't seem so strange anymore, now that it was clear that he was _gay_. 

Gods, Riku was _gay_. It made Kairi shudder to think that she _liked_ him. And the worst thing of all? Somehow he had managed to infect everyone with this disgusting disease! 

"I must act now!" Kairi suddenly exclaimed, jumping up from where she was crouching, as she had been rummaging through the bottom drawer. She nodded to herself, ready and set to finally start her mission, when suddenly something caught her eye. 

Peering at the open drawer, she wrinkled her nose, tilting her head to the side. 

What the hell? 

"Why…why is there…a skirt…?" she stammered, feeling a familiar sickness coming over her. She had had it when she first saw Sora and Riku together. 

Could it be that Riku was not only gay but also…a cross-dresser?! 

She felt slightly faint. 

Examining the skirt carefully, she saw that there was a card attached to it. Curiously, she looked at it. 

She blinked. 

"Happy 14th Birthday, Kairi," she read, frowning as her brain repeated it again and again until the meaning of the words sunk in. 

14th Birthday? 

As if on cue, she felt a memory coming back. Drifting into the wonderful fantasy land of the past, Kairi remembered. 

It was her birthday, yes, she was about to turn 14 now. Riku and Sora both asked her to meet them. Of course, they both wanted to see her at the same time, making her have to choose. 

She had a hard time deciding then, wondering whom she liked more and whom she should disappoint. She couldn't be in two places at one time, after all. After a while of thinking, Kairi found out that she'd rather meet Sora than Riku. Even though the silver haired boy had asked her first, and was always flirting with her when Sora was a little clumsy and clueless, she still felt like going to Sora. 

And so, Riku was alone on that particular day and Kairi realized how horrible and guilty she felt for doing this to him. Being confused, she began to avoid him a little, getting distant. 

Back in the present, Kairi shook her head. _That_ had probably caused Riku to stop being so flirty. He was still competing with Sora but it seemed to be just to beat him. He seemed so much more interested in Sora than in her. 

"Arghhh he's swinging that way! Of course he likes Sora…." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. As it didn't work, she began to tear on her hair, trying to let the pain take over. It didn't work either. 

"RIKU!" she exclaimed in frustration, getting up to kick at the drawer. Hitting her foot, she finally hurt enough to forget about her current thoughts and eventually turned to stumble out of the room. She had to act now, she couldn't sit here and do nothing since she had already wasted most of the day. Tidus and Wakka needed to be together so Selphie would be alone! So, as much as it disgusted her to have two _boys_ being together, she had to let those two become a couple. She even had to help them. But this was all for a good cause, so it was all right. 

When she stood in the doorway, ready to exit the room, she suddenly turned around and walked straight back to the drawer. 

Crouching down, she brushed some of her hair back and smiled. Upon opening the drawer, she took the skirt into her hands and tore off the card. 

"I can't believe this pretty thing has been kept for almost a year now…That's just wrong." 

And being the self-proclaimed heroine of justice (when did she do that?!), Kairi had to right this wrong by putting it on. 

"Looks awesome!" she giggled, before skipping off to Selphie's house. First, she would tell Selphie about the thing between Tidus and Wakka to sow doubt. Then she would bring the boys together to completely destroy Selphie's heart. 

Perfect plan. 

It was showtime. 

On her way, she passed Sora's house. The light was on, as it had turned dark already since the heavy rain clouds blocked the sun completely. 

Kairi stopped somewhere near the window, looking through it in mild curiosity. 

Her heart thumped in her chest when she saw Riku standing at the edge of the bed, stretching lazily and flexing his muscles. He had no shirt on. 

Tearing her eyes off of Riku, she saw that Sora was lying on the bed, arms spread to the sides. 

Why did it make her feel so weird to see them together? They weren't even _doing_ anything, just being in the same room. But that was disturbing enough. There used to be a time when they were a trio. Two _straight_ boys and one girl. 

She was more than set to get this back. With the help of Selphie, for the girl always had the craziest ideas that miraculously worked out splendid, they would be able to right the wrong. 

She twitched. Riku just climbed back on the bed, half sitting on Sora. Sora sat up, arms still spread, and welcomed his friend in a warm embrace. 

All right, that's enough. She _really_ didn't need to see what they were going to do now. 

…even though a tiny, tiny part of her was a bit curious and told her to keep watching. 

"I'm not insane," she scoffed at herself, quickly turning away, thus successfully ignoring her curiosity. 

-- 

Sora sighed contently as he hugged Riku. 

"Even though I just slept a bit, I'm still kind of tired…" he mumbled, pouting cutely as he exhaled audibly. 

Riku laughed, pulling away slightly to pat his friend on the head. 

"You're always tired, you lazy bum. Remember how you used to doze off on the beach?" He shook his head in mock disapproval. 

Sora pulled away completely to scowl at Riku. If one could call it a scowl, that is. 

It still looked like has was pouting. 

"I'm not a lazy bum at all! If someone's lazy here, it's you!" he seriously declared as he pointed an accusing finger at his counterpart. 

Riku merely smirked. "Oh yeah? I challenge you to a race, right now. See how long you'll last." 

He sounded extremely confident just as though he knew exactly that Sora was going to lose. He always did. 

"Oh yeah?! I accept the challenge! And after I beat you, I'll challenge you to a duel and kick your sorry excuse of an ass!" Sora wasn't about to back down from any challenge. He was confident too. And he would do anything to win against Riku. 

If anything, Riku smirked even more. "I thought you liked my ass," he smugly retorted, grinning as Sora suddenly began to blush. 

"The…the challenge!" Sora quickly stammered to remind them of what they were talking about. 

Riku shrugged. "Fine." 

"Fine! So let's go!" Sora replied, crossing his arms childishly over his chest. 

Silence followed. Neither one said anything, nor did they move. 

Then, suddenly, both opened their mouths and spoke. 

"Let's postpone it to tomorrow," they simultaneously mumbled, first looking defeated, then looking at each other with wide eyes. 

"You gave up!" they exclaimed, again, at the same time. 

Sora stuck out his tongue. 

Riku glared. 

"You gave up first!" they said in unison. 

Riku rolled his eyes. "You began to speak a second before me," he pointed out, making it sound totally logical and true. It was almost as though he could use some hypnotizing technique on Sora. 

But Sora regained his senses and shook his head, claiming it was the other way round. 

"No, you." 

"No, _you_." 

"_No_, it was you!" 

"No! It was _you_!" 

They glared at each other until Sora lost his patience and let himself fall backwards to lie down, staring at the ceiling. 

"…don't think you've won," he mumbled, spreading his arms to the sides again. 

Riku hummed and moved to hover right above his friend's face, gently taking his hands to pin them above his head. 

"Riku.." Sora breathed, staring up at the older teen in slight wonder. 

Riku held his wrists with one hand and slipped the other hand down, _far_ down. 

Sora squeaked. Then he blushed. "W-what…? Now…? B-but…" he stammered, but was silenced by loving lips, moving softly against his own while a hand began to tease the underside of his thigh, stroking sensually through the clothes. 

"Mmmm…" the younger boy purred, closing his eyes slowly. 

Riku smirked at the response and leaned down to claim his ear. "You like that a lot, don't you?" Licked his ear. Nibbled on it. Kissed it softly. 

Sora only sighed in reply, wriggling under the older boy to get his arms free. 

"Let…go…" he muttered, pulling his hands out of Riku's grip. 

The silver haired boy stopped his ministrations, looking slightly baffled. Had Sora just pulled his wrists out of his grip? With no effort at all? Either Sora had gotten stronger or Riku hadn't been holding him properly. 

"Wait," Riku murmured, grabbing Sora's wrists with full force. 

The younger boy winced and scowled, trying to pull away again. "What's your problem?" he pouted, pulling harder. Riku had a concentrated look on his face, watching Sora's wrists trying to slip through his hand. And then, it happened. 

Sora jerked his hands back, still pouting adorably even though he was trying to scowl. Just when he was about to open his mouth and complain about Riku being stupid, the silver haired boy began to smile. 

A smile, that looked strangely satisfied yet a bit amazed. Sora blinked. 

"What…are you smiling about?" he tentatively asked, looking at his friend as he wondered what was going on in that beautiful head of his. Sometimes, no, almost always, Riku was a riddle. 

Said boy chuckled and shook his head; then leaned down to capture his love's lips in a sweet kiss. When he pulled away, he sat up completely, slowly crawling off of Sora. Sora sat up, too, leaning against the headboard, crossing his arms. 

Silence regarded them for a while and Riku was still smiling. He shook his head sometimes, seemed to be thinking of something. 

Sora watched for some time before he decided that it was enough. 

"Now what?" he asked, moving forward to peer at Riku. 

"You've gotten stronger." 

Silver locks fluttered in the air as the teen shook his head again. He seemed somehow incredulous, now that Sora looked closer. 

Wait, was it that incredible that Sora had gotten stronger? And who said Sora was weak in the first place? 

"Hey!" he exclaimed, pulling on Riku's arm in urgency. "What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned, cocking his head, looking Riku right into the eyes. 

Riku smirked and looked back, turning it into a staring contest. Sora, of course, gave up after a while, rolling his eyes and turning away. 

"Really…" he mumbled, along with some other things Riku didn't understand. 

But before the silver haired boy knew what was happening, Sora had pinned him to the mattress, looking serious yet playful. 

"Now _that's_ what I call stronger," he whispered, reaching out a hand to caress Riku's cheek before sliding it down to his neck to brush his fingertips over the flesh in a soft gesture. 

For some reason, it didn't bother Riku to be on bottom at the moment. Because everything Sora was doing was pure bliss and he would be damned if he pushed him off now. So instead of fighting, he gave in, letting the younger boy have his fun and think he was superior when, naturally, he was not. 

No one could beat Riku, right? 

Riku mentally nodded. No one beat him. 

"Mmmm... Sora...!" he gasped, feeling the one who would _not_ beat him kiss the spot right beneath his ear. It made him go crazy. 

All right, maybe Sora had a slight chance in beating him. He knew his weakness, after all… 

Sora kissed the spot repeatedly, keeping his touches light and fleeting. Maddening. Maybe he hadn't been born as the dominating one, but he was learning, and with every practice, he would gain more experience. 

And one day, he smiled, he would _definitely_ be on top, be it in competition or in bed. 

-- 

Kairi reached Selphie's home just before it started to rain again. Having not seen what the _supposed to be straight_ boys were doing after she left, she felt maliciously happy. She knocked a few times, wondering if Selphie was actually at home. Who knew what this girl was doing? 

She could be running around chasing raindrops, for all she knew. 

"Really…she's a bit scary sometimes…" Kairi muttered, knocking harder in case Selphie _was_ there, just too engrossed in something to hear the noise. 

"Selphie! Selphie, are you at home?" Knocking didn't seem to work, so she resorted to calling. Maybe she would hear the voice and answer the door? Or perhaps she wasn't even at home? 

Kairi sighed. She turned, and began to walk away. She didn't know where she should go now. Selphie could be anywhere. 

After turning her head several times to see if the girl had magically appeared in front of her house, she found herself walking towards Tidus's place. There was a chance that Selphie was there but it would only make the situation worse, for it would be hard to tell Selphie about Tidus liking Wakka when he was actually spending time with her. 

As she reached the blond boy's house, she knocked a few times before having the door being opened by Tidus himself. 

"Oh, hi, Kairi." He looked at her, then over her shoulder, and back to her. "You alone?" 

It was raining and she was standing in front of Tidus's door, wet, probably cold, and alone. Tidus frowned. Something about this was wrong. For one, if someone had to stand like that in front of Tidus's house it should be Selphie. 

Two, if Kairi had to stand like that before anyone's house, it should be Wakka's. 

Or maybe not. Tidus found himself feeling slightly strange when he thought about Kairi getting all of Wakka's attention. He didn't hate Kairi but he didn't think she would do Wakka any good. Last time she had turned him into a mindless idiot following his mistress, and then she had beaten the crap out of him, which was unbelievable but still logical since Wakka didn't like to hurt girls. 

He had probably just let himself getting beaten by the maniac and let her work out her frustration. But still…she shouldn't go near Wakka anymore. 

"Is Selphie with you?" Kairi suddenly asked, snapping Tidus out of his thoughts. 

He craned his neck and looked back into the house. Then he turned to face Kairi again. 

"Nope. Either she is completely blending into my furniture with her superspecialninjaspyingtechnique, or she isn't here," he replied, shrugging once. Yep, he knew about her superspecialninjaspyingtechnique. She had told him about it with great passion until she got distracted by the curtains blowing in the wind. Which promptly caused her to think of gemstones. Which didn't make any sense at all, but Selphie never made sense. 

"Oh." 

Kairi nodded once and raised her hand in a small wave before she flipped around to wander away. 

Somehow she looked like a ghost. Tidus tilted his head. What was wrong with her, anyway? Kairi used to be a nice girl but now she was just getting strange. She _definitely_ shouldn't go near Wakka again. Maybe he should check on Wakka? 

Tidus thought about that for a while. He did feel like visiting Wakka now. So, before he started to think about _why_ he wanted to see Wakka, he grabbed his umbrella and slipped on his shoes, running out into the rain to seek his friend. 

-- 

Kairi came back to the place where her house had been standing. Now there was nothing. It had burned down. She shook her head, causing drops of water to splash into all directions, mixing with the falling raindrops. 

"Kairi?" 

A voice appeared behind her and she quickly spun around to find Selphie standing behind her. 

The younger girl luckily had an umbrella and she was holding three turtles in her arms. 

"Hey, Selph! I was looking for you!" With a fake smile plastered on her face, Kairi greeted her friend. 

Selphie immediately grinned. "Yep? What's up? I was just looking at the remnants of your house…'cause I feel really guilty about it now. I wish I hadn't done that…" 

She paused, her grin fading as she lowered her head. Kairi almost thought she was going to be depressed. 

However, she quickly smiled again, looking cheerful and lively as always. 

"Did you hear about Sora and Riku? Are they together again?" 

Even though she knew Kairi would probably feel slightly bothered by the question, she still hoped the girl had finally forgot her grudge against the boys. She was back and all they wanted was to be friends again, right? Even though Sora and Riku belonged with each other, Kairi should still be there, too. Not as someone who separated them but as a friend, like everyone else was. 

"I saw them when I passed Sora's house. It did look like they were together again," the auburn haired girl explained and it pained her to say those things. 

"Ooooh great! So I can finally concentrate on me and Tidus again!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and down; her three turtles looked bemused. 

Kairi winced. All right, that was her chance. 'Tell her about this morning. Tell her about Tidus saying he feels weird about Wakka,' she thought, starting to unfold her all too masterfully created plan. 

"Selphie, you're still my best friend," she began, stepping closer so she could stand under Selphie's umbrella. "And as you know, I've been living with Riku…" She heaved a sigh, face turning dramatically sad. 

"I feel so bad for telling you this but I think that as a true friend, I have to clear things up." 

Selphie just blinked, wondering what Kairi could possibly have to tell her. 

Noting that it was still pouring, they decided to go home to Selphie where they could discuss the following matter in peace. 

Hours passed until Kairi was finished with her story of contagious Riku infecting poor innocent Tidus, thus causing him to feel for Wakka now. She had recounted everything that had happened; the conversation she had heard, the things she thought she was seeing between Wakka and Tidus (of course she hadn't seen anything) and then she added her own opinion. 

"Selphie, I know how this feels and I really didn't want you to feel like that. But I think, you gotta talk to Tidus about this. Tell him you know and ask him what he's thinking. He's probably just confused…" 

Oh how sweet she sounded. Kairi inwardly smiled. This was perfect. 

Selphie had been quiet the whole time, her expression changing from attentive to pensive, then a bit distracted, and again pensive. She wasn't thinking of random things anymore, Kairi could see that. 

"Yeah…" the suddenly quiet girl murmured, scratching her head slightly. 

"Yeah, I guess I should do that…" she went on, pointedly avoiding eye contact with Kairi. She was looking at everything but Kairi, partially because she couldn't quite believe and trust her, and partially because she felt a little angry about this and didn't want Kairi to see that. 

"All right!" 

The girls made up a plan as to how Selphie should approach Tidus on this matter, discussing whether she should start subtle or come to the point immediately. Kairi was all for dropping hints and trying to get Tidus admit it first but Selphie thought it would be better to directly ask him, just in case it was all a misunderstanding. 

So after a lot of berating and discussing and persuading, Kairi managed to have her way. 

"You go meet him tomorrow afternoon. I can come too, if you want. You know, just in case you need someone on your side…" She really sounded honest and despite her past evil doings, Selphie kind of trusted her. Naïve? Probably. 

However, even though Selphie might have been the Queen of Fate and a very clever girl knowing almost everything that happened on this island, she was still a thirteen-year old girl who had been friends with Kairi for quite a time. 

"That's all right. I'll go alone, I guess…" The young girl shook her head like puppy and put a smile on her face. 

"Thanks, Kairi! I'm sure it will allllllll work out!" Her mind immediately picked up the cheerful mood and she began to think of fun things again. 

Kairi was a bit worried about that, but shrugged it off. 

So the rest of the evening passed by with the girls chatting about various 'girl stuff' and occasional randomness of Selphie. 

Eventually, it became really late and Selphie suggested to let Kairi stay over the night. 

"Thanks, really, but I think I should go back to…" she faltered, thinking of Riku and Sora again. No doubt that Riku was busy with Sora now, so she would be alone in his house. But that was actually a good thing because she needed to get ready for tomorrow. 

Tomorrow, when she would find Tidus and Wakka, early in the morning, and encourage them to let out their feelings. Tomorrow was a big day, she told herself. 

"I'll go back to Riku's place." 

With that, she hugged Selphie curtly and walked right out of the door. The younger girl had no chance to ask her anything but decided that it was for the better. 

She was busy enough with her turtles and the thing with Tidus was also worrying her a bit. Just today she had begun to think of improving her relationship with Tidus and getting a bit more romantic. And now this? He was going for Wakka now? 

"Actually…Tidus and Wakka look cute when they're together," she giggled a little before she skipped off into the bathroom to brush her teeth. While she stood in front of the mirror, she smiled, almost starting to laugh as she pictured to boys in hamster suits. 

No. Don't ask. 

--- 

The next morning came way too fast for Kairi and she lazily dragged herself out of bed. Riku's bed, she reminded herself, blushing slightly at the thought of sleeping in the bed of her crush. 

"Ahh, no, no, no! No crush! He's a stupid idiot," she scolded herself, hammering with her hands to get in the fact that he was _G-A-Y_. So no liking someone like that. Who knew, maybe he would also infect her?? 

She shuddered. 

So after being scared out of her life with the thought of getting this sickness, too, she made her way to Tidus's house. She supposed she would find him there and have a talk with him about the situation. First, she would mention the fact that Sora and Riku were happily together again. Then, she would ask about him and Selphie. Then, she would mention Wakka and see his reaction. 

Oh, it was all too perfect. 

Perfect, with one exception. 

When she knocked on the blond boy's door, no one opened. She knocked again and again, shouting his name in case he was sleeping. She didn't care if she woke him up. 

But no one answered. No Tidus. 

"What the…" she frowned, totally thrown out of her concept by the fact that she hadn't considered what would happen if she didn't find Tidus. What now? What in the world was she supposed to do now? 

Kairi scratched her cheek in irritation. She bit her lip, thinking of what to do. This was a really bad thing. 

Unless of course… 

A thought entered her mind. What if Tidus already _was_ with Wakka, and spent the night with him? That would be the absolute and best thing ever! 

So without further thinking, the devilish girl dashed off into Wakka's direction. Hopefully she would catch them while doing something really bad, so she would have evidence for their wrongness. 

She stopped. Did she just think she wanted to catch them doing things? No, she did _not_ want to catch anyone doing anything. At all. 

"I'm not insane!" she shouted, hammering on her head again as she picked up her pace. 

For someone seeing her like this, however, she did look like a lunatic. Poor Kairi. She was already losing her mind. 

--- 

Sora awoke with a huge grin on plastered on his face. 

"Almost…" he whispered, feeling Riku's silver hair tickle his neck. He had almost won this time… next time he would definitely be on top. 

"I'm going to beat you, you just wait." 

Riku, in his sleep, snorted. 

Tbc

* * *

Ending notes: Kairi is completely homophobic...but we knew that already. What will Selphie do now? Will she actually support TidusxWakka or turn into another Kairi? Oh, the suspense! (not really...)  
So yes...Sora is still not giving up on being seme, and he'll practice until he's won, that's for sure. Maybe I'll write a lemon or at least lime telling about this "Almost" Sora's talking about in the last part... would be interesting to see what he'd done to Riku, and how Riku still managed to get on top so that it was only _Almost_.  
All right... stay tuned for the next installment of the never ending soap opera. It will only get more confusing and strange until nothing makes sense anymore. 


End file.
